


If we're gunna be rivals (You had better know my name)

by Turntechgodliness (AmberzillaRex)



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies), The Isle of the Lost Series - Melissa de la Cruz
Genre: Child Abuse, Dark, F/F, M/M, Murder, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-17
Updated: 2018-11-25
Packaged: 2019-03-06 02:29:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 17
Words: 54,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13401540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmberzillaRex/pseuds/Turntechgodliness
Summary: When Mother Gothel puts Mal and Jay with the two nerdiest students at Dragon Hall, they can't help but be pleased that they're about to have an easy ride.It's too bad about those massive crushes. And the gang war they pull the two into.And the murder. It's really a shame about the murder.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I believe my process of writing is now 'can't stop won't stop'.

“You know, if you stare at him any longer, you’re gunna hurt yourself, Jay. You’re brain’s not made to try and do more than one thing at a time.” Jay rolled his eyes, reaching to flick Mal’s ear as the purple haired girl settled in the seat next to him, dropping her sketchbook down as Jay turned his attention back to the two teens seated across the classroom from them. 

“Shut up, Mal. You stare at her way more than I stare at him. I’ve seen your sketchbook. I know your secrets, bitch.” Mal snorted, shifting her chair back slightly to put her feet up on the table as she leant back to stretch in her seat.

“Mmm. Alright then, what’s up your ass? You usually just ignore me when you’re de Vil gazing.” Jay gave a shrug, his eyes tracking the movement of the small teen seated at the table he’d been watching. Mal shifted, stretching her arms above her head as Mother Gothel began rambling at the head of the class, ignoring the students as she paced her way around the room. Dropping her feet, Mal leant closer to Jay and gave him a nudge, raising a brow when he glanced her way. “What, did I miss something exciting today?” Jay sighed, turning his gaze fully to Mal as he rested his chin on his hand. 

“He’s not wearing his jacket. For evil’s sake, Mal, have you seen him without a jacket?” Mal let out a barking laugh as Jay let out a groan, gesturing half heartedly with his hand as the two teens they’d been staring at glanced their way. Carlos was wearing a long sleeved shirt that he had rolled up while writing, gloves covering his hands and wrists as he scribbled. “His ARMS, Mal.” He hissed, ducking his head into his hands as Gothel cleared her throat from the head of the class. Mal snickered, punching Jay’s arm as she opened up her sketchbook, ignoring the teacher completely. 

“Gross, Jay. No one cares about the Mutt’s arms.” She wrinkled her nose as she began to sketch, and Jay cast a look of annoyance at her. 

“You drawing the blueberry again then?” he asked, smirking as Mal’s cheeks flushed slightly, her hands tilting the book away from him. “When are you going to just admit that you want in those tights already? Shit, Mal, even you aren’t that repressed. Seriously.” Mal huffed, turning her attention back to her book as Jay chuckled, shaking his head. It was a common argument between them; Mal had been crushing on the blue haired girl since she had suddenly appeared in their class and attached herself to the son of Cruella, and refused to admit it. 

“Shut up, Jay. Ugh. Hey, did you get that ingredient I asked you to?” Jay reached into his pocket, tugging out a small, leather pouch to toss at Mal as he turned his attention momentarily towards Gothel as she began scribbling something on the board. 

“Yeah, and you owe me. I think I might have started something with the Wharf Rats getting that shit, what do you even need it for?” Mal snatched the bag, opening it to peer inside eagerly before closing it again. 

“A potion for mom. I mean I know it’s not going to work but I’m pretty sure it’s just like a tea for cramps that she calls a potion to feel better about the fact that she can’t do magic anymore. Here.” She slipped him a pearl necklace that appeared to be almost completely intact, tucking the pouch into her coat pocket before a book was dropped onto the table in front of them, startling them both out of their conversation. The two looked up, wide eyed at the two bodies standing in front of them. Evie scowled as she stood before them, her books held in her arms as beside her Carlos crossed his arms over his chest, looking unamused. “Uh, can we help you?” Mal asked, glancing at Jay before leaning forward in her seat to stare at Evie. The girl shifted slightly, her lips pressed in a tight line as she nodded towards the chalkboard at the front of the classroom. 

“We’ve been assigned together for Evil Heritage. You know, the project Gothel’s been going on about for the past week? Research our parents and their deeds?” She rolled her eyes as Carlos shifted to press against her side, brow raised as he stared at the two older teens. 

“Oh. Alright, so we’re with you nerds?” Jay’s tone was amused, though the faintest hint of a flush graced his cheeks as he tried to ignore the way Carlos was staring at him silently. Evie nodded with a frown, and she turned as the bell tolled signifying the end of class. 

“Yes, I suppose you are. Carlos and I are going to the Slop Shop once we drop our things off at home, feel free to meet us there to discuss our assignment.” Before Mal could open her mouth to respond the girl disappeared out of the classroom, Carlos following quickly behind her as he grabbed up the book he had dropped onto the table. Mal shared a look at Jay, who gave a wide eyed shrug, before the two stood, gathering their things. 

“Well this could be interesting.” Jay stated, tucking a strand of hair behind his ear as he scooped up Mal’s bag to carry for her while she picked up her sketchbook and pencil case. 

“Sure. Interesting. That’s what we’ll go with.” Mal groaned, the two heading out of the classroom to head towards their lockers. The hallways were filled with students eager to get out of the building; rare as it was for students to pay attention in class, they were still expected to attend their school days in full. Mal groaned as she spotted a familiar figure leaning against her locker, jabbing her elbow into Jay’s side as she nodded towards the person waiting for them. “Jay, I think that’s for you.” Jay made a face as they reached Mal’s locker, leaning against the one next to hers as he raised a brow at the girl standing there. 

“C.J. Can we help you?” The pirate tilted her head as she turned her attention to Jay, scowling as she lifted a hand to point at him. 

“You can give me back what you stole from me, thief.” Jay rolled his eyes, giving her a small shove so Mal could get to her locker. 

“That sorta defeats the purpose of stealing it in the first place, Ceej.” C.J scowled, crossing her arms over her chest as Mal opened her locker. 

“Harry’s pissed. That pouch was Uma’s, I was bringing it to her from Da’s. So he’s out for blood now. Which is annoying because...well. You know Harry.” Jay groaned, and Mal slammed her locker shut after placing her books into it before turning to the pirate. 

“I don’t care who it belonged to, it’s mine now. If Harry wants to come fight me for it, he’d better bring more than just his little sword to the fight. Now beat it, Hook, before I beat you.” C.J sneered at her, turning to take off down the hallway as Mal turned to Jay. 

“Now, I believe we have a Slop Shop to terrorize, do we not?”

-=-=-

“I could poison them. It wouldn’t take much- Jay’s not exactly the most intelligent of specimen.” Evie gave a slanted smile as Carlos set his tray on the table she sat at, taking the curdled cream latte he handed her before sliding him half a loaf of hard bread, watching him sit as she took a sip of her drink. 

“That’s a bit extreme, Carlos. They haven’t even done anything yet.” Carlos shot her a look, taking the bread to take a bite as he rested an elbow on the table. “Besides, that would be a waste of perfectly good poison.” Carlos huffed, chewing his bread as his gaze travelled around the Slop Shop to watch the crowd around them. “And we need all of that poison if our plans going to work, don’t we?” Rolling his eyes, Carlos gave a nod at Evie’s words, taking a sip of his coffee and giving a sigh as he rubbed his wrist, careful of the red, blistered skin that served as a reminder of why they needed it. 

“Yeah, we do. Did we have to invite those two to meet up with us? They’re just going to make us do all the work anyways, they don’t have to be here.” He wrinkled his nose as he took another bite of the bread in his hand, his stomach growling loudly as he tried not to eat too fast. Evie frowned, taking a long sip of her drink as she watched her friend carefully, and instead of answering the question she reached out to gently push Carlos’ sleeve up with a frown. The raw skin circled the younger teen’s wrist, and Evie gently pressed her fingertips just above the marks as she gave a soft sigh. Her mother, as cruel as her words were, as damaging as her harshly spoken criticisms were, had never laid a hand on her- had made her go without a meal here and there whenever she was looking a bit more full around the waist, but never neglected to feed her for weeks on end. “You should have come to my place last night, C. You know what she’s like when she’s been into the wine.” Carlos gave a small shrug, tugging lightly at his arm before leaning towards her, one calloused finger rubbing gently at the corner of her eye. 

“You smudged your liner, hold on. And yes, I probably should have, but Jasper was home last night.” The two fell silent a moment, both thinking on Cruella’s more heinous henchman, and Evie pushed her half of the bread to Carlos, giving him a small smile. “E, no, you have to eat something too.” Evie shook her head, wrapping both of her hands around her beverage as behind her, the door to the shop opened. 

“Mother is going to be gone for two weeks. I’ll have full reign of the castle, Carlos, don’t worry. Please, eat it.” Carlos shot her an almost shy grin, taking the bread from her. He jumped as a hand slapped down on the table, and it was only Jay’s quick reaction time that prevented him from having a knife jammed through his hand as opposed to the table top beside it. Glancing up, Carlos pulled the knife from the table, glaring at the teen standing over him. 

“Evil’s sake, de Vil, it’s just me. Shit.” Jay’s frown only grew as Carlos tucked his knife into his sleeve, eyes tracking both Jay and Mal from where the other girl was dragging over another chair to join the table. 

“Even more reason to stab you.” The younger teen stated, almost under his breath. Jay’s frown deepened, and Mal slid into her seat next to Evie with a sly smirk as she reached for the girls drink. Evie slapped her hand away, glaring at her as the two newcomers made themselves comfortable at the table. “You know, Evie and I can do this project by ourselves. No need to do anything on your end.” He tugged his sleeve down to cover his hand, shoving the rest of his bread into his mouth hastily before chugging down half of his coffee, wary of the two older teens. 

“Ugh, of course you brainiac’s could do it all but I don’t trust either of you to get it right. How do I know you won’t fuck this up and screw over my perfectly imperfect grades?” Mal’s tone was almost too bored, as though she was trying too hard to be uninterested, and Carlos tilted his head to the side some as he watched the purple haired girl glance from the tabletop to Evie. He rolled his eyes- he had figured out ages ago that Mal had some sort of obsession with his friend, some weird pull that lead her to...not quite torment her, but certainly not be nice to her either. He couldn’t quite figure her out, and it bothered her that she seemed so focused on Evie when he couldn’t understand why- not because Evie wasn’t worth her focus, but because Mal was such an enigma to him. 

“Besides, why would you turn down getting to work with all this everyday, Carlos?” Jay’s tone was teasing as he gestured to himself, and Carlos rolled his eyes as he finished the rest of his coffee, looking mournfully into the now empty mug as his stomach gave another growl. He hadn’t eaten in three days; the bread helped dull the edge of painful cramps, but he had hoped to get a bit more to eat before returning to Hell Hall. He shoved his hand into his pocket as Evie and Mal began discussing where their focus should be on the project, frowning as one of his fingers slipped out of the pocket through a hole. He pushed his seat back and stood, bending to peer under the table with a curse. “You lose something?” Carlos’ gaze shot up to Jay, eyes narrowing as the older boy held up two copper coins with a smirk.

“Give them back, Jay.” Evie’s voice was flat as she watched the two boys, and beside her Mal cast her a glance, brow raised. Jay turned towards her, and Carlos snapped his arm out to grab the coins, curling his fist around Jay’s and bending it back just enough for the tendon to tighten painfully in the older teen’s wrist. Jay grunted, opening his hand and releasing the coins, and Carlos took the coins back, glaring at Jay. 

“Shit, alright. It’s just two coppers, it’s not like you can buy much with it.” Carlos turned to Evie, shaking his head as he tucked the coins into an inside pocket on his jacket. 

“I can’t work with him.” Evie sighed, tapping her fingertips on the table top as she gave the younger teen a look. Carlos sighed, throwing his hands up as he spun on his heel to head to the counter to get some more food. 

“What the hell is his problem?” Mal asked, raising a brow as Jay slumped in his seat at Carlos’ departure. Evie hummed, sliding Mal the book she had been reading before the two had arrived before picking up her latte to have another drink from it. 

“He doesn't like either of you. Even you should be smart enough to realize that.” Jay frowned, watching as Carlos approached the counter before turning his attention to Evie. 

“You’ve spent the better part of the past three years tormenting him, from what I’ve been told. Shoving him into lockers, forcing him to do things that make him uncomfortable. It’s not a surprise he doesn’t want to work with you, Jay. Same with you, Mal, honestly.” She folded her hands on top of the table, giving them both an unamused look. 

“Whatever. So we have to ask our parents questions? That’s what the assignment’s about, right, we ask them about their bad old days and write a report on them? Seems easy enough. My mom will rant for hours about how she had the entire kingdom under her thumb, blah blah blah. And Jafar rambles for days about Agrabah and how it should be his, damnit. Won’t take long to get information from them.” Mal gave a half shrug as she spoke, all eyes turning to Carlos as he reappeared at the table holding another loaf of bread, this one moldier than the first but a bit softer. He raised a brow as he took his seat next to Evie, biting into the bread as Mal rolled her eyes at him. “We can talk to my mom tomorrow. She’ll be home after school, and it makes sense to start with the most feared villain on the Isle right?” Evie gave a soft hum, nodding some as she turned her focus on Carlos and Jay, watching as the thief edged closer to her friend. It was clear that the older boy had some sort of obsession with being near Carlos- he certainly touched the other teen enough throughout the day to set Evie on edge. She knew her friend could take care of himself, but she also knew that the younger teen had a skewed version of the idea of what was okay and what wasn’t for physical contact, and Evie constantly looked out for him incase someone tried to take advantage of it.

“I have a two hour window where I’m free tomorrow after school. After that I have to go home.” Carlos stated, pulling Evie from her thoughts at the flat tone of the boys voice. She frowned, quickly thinking on why Carlos would have to be home so soon after school, and paled slightly as she realized it was the second friday of the month. 

“C, I’m sure we can get the information from Mal’s mom without you.” She tried to come across as though it was irrelevant whether he came with them or not, and beside her Mal straightened in her seat some, curious. Carlos shot Evie a look, giving a small shake of his head before turning his attention to the bread in his hand, picking off the moldier pieces. 

“It’s fine, E. I just have to make sure I’m home before Jasper and Horace bring Cruella back.” Over their heads, Jay and Mal exchanged a look, and Evie sighed as she finished the rest of her drink. 

“Alright. So we’ll go to Bargain Castle after school then, and speak with Maleficent.” Mal nodded, slowly, and Jay perked up some as a trio of evil step-granddaughters entered the  
shop. 

“Alright well if that’s settled, I have things to do. Later nerds.” The remaining trio watched as Jay slide from his seat, slinking his way to the three girls stood around the counter with an almost grace, and Mal gave a snort, shaking her head. 

“Jafar’ll be happy tonight, Jay’s gunna rob those three idiots blind.” Evie tilted her head, watching Jay slip an arm around one of the girl’s waists, and beside her Carlos snorted. 

“He’s very good at pretending.” He stated, his gaze focused on the tall teen even as he began ripping pieces of bread into his hand. “I can understand why he’s considered the best thief on the Isle.” He frowned a moment, then turned to Evie. “Do you think he could…” He shot a look at Mal, who raised a brow at him. 

“Let me see if we can first. Okay?” Evie’s hand shot out to pat Carlos’, and the younger boy nodded, returning his attention back to his bread again as Evie checked the clock hanging above the counter. “Well, we should go. Tomorrow, after classes Mal. Meet us in front of the dragon statue.” Mal nodded, watching the two gather their things and leave, lost in thought. Something was off with the two; she had always known that Carlos was a twitchy little shit, always shying away from people and refusing to interact with others for the most part, but she had always assumed that it had been some sort of mental flaw, or that he simply thought himself too good to speak to the other teenagers on the Isle. Evie always seemed incredibly stuck up- as though she knew she was gorgeous and felt that the people around her would never measure up. Mal had always thought she was more school smart than street smart, but the quick and efficient way she handled their sudden arrival showed that perhaps she’d been wrong about the blue haired girl. Turning her attention back to Jay, she rolled her eyes and let out a sharp whistle, gaining his attention immediately. He shot her a curious look, and Mal nodded for him to return to the table. She watched the three step-granddaughters simper as Jay left, rolling her eyes as Jay slid into the chair Evie had vacated. 

“Sup, M? Did the nerds leave?” Mal nodded, frowning slightly as she ran a finger around the lip of the cup Evie had left behind. 

“Yeah. There’s something...weird going on, I think. I think they’re up to something, Carlos seemed like he wanted to ask you something about stealing something. It was weird.” Jay gave her a confused look, flicking some hair from his face as he shrugged. 

“Well, we can keep an eye on ‘em then. They’re sort of weird so I’m not surprised they’re acting weird Mal. You’re probably just being paranoid.” Mal shot him a glare, and Jay held his hands up. 

“Whatever. Let’s go, I think Freddy said her dad got in some actual good shit for a change and I want to see if he has anything that Mom'll like.” Jay nodded, and the two pushed themselves from the table, moving to head out. 

Something was going on, and Mal would find out.


	2. Chapter 2

The market was made of three main streets, lined with small stores and stalls selling the same used, recycled items they had been for years previous. Alleyways served as meeting places, tucked between stalls and darkened by the brick and tin walls of the buildings around them. The market was often busy, over run with villains trying to find something to distract them from the rotten land they called home, and Saturday mornings were busiest- Friday's late barges brought in new items that were fought over and put up for ‘discounted’ prices, usually no more discounted than the original price would have been- and the marketplace goers often found themselves the unknowing victims of Jay and Mal. Sticky fingers were common on the Isle, stealing a viable way to make a living, and though quick smiles and cheeky flirting kept the citizens from growing too angry with Jay for his almost thoughtless petty theft, most still knew to be wary of carrying any items of importance when out in the streets.

“I can’t believe the shit Anthony bought, look at this. Half a bundle of fabric, some thread, two buttons? What the hell does he plan on using all this for?” Jay held out the bag to Mal, brow raised as he glanced down the lane way they had met up in. Mal took the bag with a frown, peering inside before handing it back with a shrug.

“I don’t know, maybe he’s making clothes or something. Can your dad sell it?” She crossed her arms over her chest, already bored with the bag Jay tucked into his vest. 

“Nah, I’ll just drop it off in Anthony’s locker later. It’s no good for me, you can’t use it, and it’s not going to sell worth shit, might as well give it back to him, make him think he’s losing it.” Mal snorted, and Jay shot her a grin as he pushed himself away from the wall he’d been leaning on. “So why did you want me to meet you this early before school? It’d better be a good reason.” Mal rolled her eyes, gesturing for him to follow her as she stepped out into the main market area. 

“Our little genius’ were spotted this morning sneaking out of their homes and making their way towards the market. Aren’t you curious as to why the Princess and the Pup are out and about this early?” Jay snorted, tucking his hands in his pockets as they began to walk through the early morning crowd. 

“No, not really. They’re probably just looking to get to the market before everyone gets the good shit. Besides, who exactly told you they were spotted sneaking out?” He didn’t want to admit that his curiosity was peaked; as far as he knew, both Evie and Carlos avoided the market until later in the day. Mal scowled, kicking a rock at a group of children standing around a stall, before reaching to shove Jay. 

“Shut up. Look, there they are over at your dads shop.” Jay turned his attention towards the Junk Shop, surprised to find both Evie and Carlos slipping into the store. He had never seen either teen in his dad’s store, most of Jafar’s customers tending to be closer to the ex-vizier’s age than Jay’s, had he couldn’t outright think of anything his father would be selling that would catch their attention. Motioning for Mal to follow him, he made his way to the shop, entering silently and sneaking around one of the tables piled high with items to one of his hidden cubbies scattered around the shop. Evie stood inspecting a pile of what looked like old, rusted kitchen knives, while Carlos stood beside her, a hood pulled low over his face as gloved fingers sorted through the knives Evie set aside. Jay assumed it was Carlos- the shorter boy wore the younger teen’s signature colours, and though Jay couldn’t see his face he recognized the careful way he stood- and as Evie dropped another knife into the slowly growing pile, Carlos shook his head and pushed a singular, large hunting knife towards her. “What are they doing?” Mal’s voice was in his ear as she leant over his shoulder, eyes focused on the two as Evie picked up the knife to inspect carefully. 

“Looking at knives I guess?” Jay stated, shifting behind a curtain as Carlos’ head shot up, glancing their way. He frowned as the younger teen pushed a curl from his face, noting a dark bruise on the boy’s cheek. “Maybe they’re gunna stab something, Mal. That’s why I have knives.” Mal scoffed, pushing the curtain aside some as Carlos’ attention returned to Evie and the knife, the blue haired girl leaning to speak softly into Carlos’ ear as she held the knife out to him. 

“What the hell are two nerds going to stab? Evil, that’s a big knife, they’re going to hurt themselves trying to stab someone with that.” Mal’s nose wrinkled as she frowned, and Jay rolled his eyes as he turned his attention back to the two teens as his father approached them. 

“Hello, hello. Looking at knives, are we?” The man asked, rubbing a hand down the front of his shirt before gesturing towards the table. “We have plenty to pick from, but I can see you’ve already made a choice.” Evie lifted her chin, batting long lashes at the man as she offered a coy smile, catching the man off guard.

“Oh, yes. We’ve looked through your wares, sir. Very wide variety. My mother is looking for a hunter’s knife, this seems to be the only one?” Carlos’ voice was rough, as though he’d been yelling or was sick, and Jay frowned as his father’s attention shifted from Evie to Carlos. 

“Your mother, you say? I might have a few other selections out back, but what will you give me for my premium wares? I doubt the two of you could afford the price difference.” He gave them a look, and Carlos straightened, moving in front of Evie to block her from the man. 

“I’m sure we can make some sort of arrangement. Why don’t you show me these knives, and we can discuss what my mother might be willing to part with.” Jafar’s gaze moved from Carlos to Evie, lingering a moment before returning to the boy with a slick smile. 

“I’m sure if she doesn’t have something I want, you can figure something out. You’re a bright boy after all. Come along.” Evie reached out to squeeze Carlos’ shoulder, and Mal and Jay exchanged a look as the boy smiled at her before following Jafar through the curtain leading to the back of the shop. Slipping from their hiding place, Jay lead Mal to where Evie stood watching the curtain the two had disappeared behind, clearing his throat as he reached her side. 

“Hey there Blue. You don’t normally come to my dad’s shop.” Evie’s head tilted towards them as Mal rested her hip against the table at Jay’s words. The girl shrugged, crossing her arms over her chest as she gave them an almost bored look. 

“Yes well you’re father doesn’t usually sell what I need. But his shop is the best place to purchase a hunting knife, as I’m sure you know. I’m not paying for one of Gaston’s cheap, faulty knives.” Jay’s brow raised in question, and Mal cleared her throat as she picked up a small dagger from the table, spinning it in her hand aimlessly. 

“What do two nerds need a hunting knife for?” Evie shot her a look, frowning slightly as she shifted back on her heels to glance towards the back room again. She seemed slightly on edge, and Jay couldn’t help but wonder why. 

“That’s none of your business, now, is it?” She asked, tone curt as she took half a step away from Jay. Jay frowned, taking a small step back as well, unwilling to have her run from them because he invaded her space. 

“It’s just a question, no need to get defensive, Princess. Just never figured you or de Vil as the stabbing sort is all.” Jay teased, resting his arm against one of the wooden supports keeping the shop wall up. Evie glared at him, her hand reaching towards the small bag hanging from her belt before she sighed, letting her hand drop back to her side. 

“Carlos needs it.” She stated after a moment, giving a small shrug as Mal gave her a curious look. 

“For his mom?” Mal inquired, tilting her head slightly as she watched Evie bite her lower lip. Something was off about the other girl’s answers; Mal didn’t know her well enough to know her tells, but her body language made Mal wonder exactly how truthful the statement was. 

“I suppose it’s for his mother, yes.” She glanced at the curtain again, her frown deepening as she unconsciously rubbed her arm. “How long does it take to look at a knife?” She murmured, her brow furrowing as Mal and Jay exchanged another look. Before either could speak, Carlos slipped back out from the curtain with a cloth wrapped bundle in his hand. He stumbled slightly as he noticed Mal and Jay standing with Evie, his eyes darting from the two to his companion worriedly. 

“Mal. Jay. Can we help you?” He tucked the bundle into his coat, frowning as he reached to pull Evie nearer to him. 

“Just curious what the nerd squad's doing in Jafar’s shop. Didn’t take either of you as the sort who goes around purchasing hunting knives.” Carlos’ expression darkened, and he crossed his arms over his chest as he took a step towards Jay. 

“I’d say you didn’t look like the spying sort, yet here we are. Evie, I have it, we can leave now.” Jay’s eyes widened, taken back at the sudden hostility, and behind Carlos Evie frowned, reaching to touch his shoulder gently. 

“C, we’re going to discuss this when we get back to the Fort.” Her eyes flickered towards the curtain, and Carlos flushed slightly as he shrugged, gesturing for her to head towards the door. 

“Yeah, okay. Can we just-it should be ready by now, we should go.” Evie nodded, and Mal’s gaze shifted from the two to Jay, brow raised in confusion at the half conversation. Jay gave a look of ‘should we follow them?’ that Mal recognized easily, and Mal gave a small nod as Carlos and Evie disappeared out the door without a single word. 

“Well now I have to know what they’re doing.” She muttered, gesturing for Jay to follow her as she left the shop as well. Jay gave a hum, eyes searching the crowd for the two before pointing them out to Mal. Mal nodded and the two followed silently, careful to avoid being seen as Evie lead Carlos through the crowd, carefully steering him to avoid people as they made their way back towards the street that lead to the opposite side of the Isle. 

“Did they just come into town to get a stupid hunting knife?” Jay asked, snorting as they watched Carlos slip something from one of the Gil’s pockets as they passed him at one of the stalls. Mal shrugged, focus still on Evie as the girl tugged Carlos faster down the road, and she reached out to grasp Jay’s sleeve to still him for a moment. 

“I think Blue’s onto us. She keeps looking back this way.” Jay frowned, and Mal pulled him down an alleyway to cross into the road leading out of town. “You can’t tell me this shit isn’t suspicious, Jay. They just bought a knife from your dad. They’re acting shifty. De Vil looks like someone socked him in the face, and the Princess seems to be just a bit too agitated. Something’s about to go down and I want to know what.” Jay nodded, and the two paused as Evie and Carlos left the market and started down the road towards their homes. Mal waited a moment before gesturing for Jay to follow her, and they set off after the two other teens, careful not to be see. 

They’d get to the bottom of things.

-=-=-

“It needs about ten more minutes but then I think it’ll be ready.” Evie stirred the contents of the cauldron set up on the table as Carlos rolled his shoulder, wincing at the pain that greeted him at the simple motion. He had taken off his hooded sweater once they’d returned to the tree house, moving to sit on the floor near the far wall where his television was set up as Evie checked on the poison they had been preparing since the night before. “Do you want me to look at your shoulder, C? It looks pretty swollen.” He glanced at his shoulder at her words, frowning slightly at the red, swollen skin that greeted him. 

“I think it’s fine, Evie. A little dislocation never hurt anyone.” Evie scoffed, giving the cauldron a final stir before turning to face her friend, hands on her waist. Carlos sat slumped against the wall, his head tilted back and eyes closed as he tried to breath through the pain. 

“Really. Is that really what you’re going with. Carlos I can feel the pain you’re in from here, just let me help.” Carlos huffed a sigh, and Evie moved to kneel beside him as she clicked her tongue, pressing her fingers against the skin lightly. Carlos let out a small hiss of pain, wincing as Evie rolled her eyes before her thumb pressed along his collar. 

“You’re lucky she didn’t have him break your collarbone, Carlos, evil’s sake. You have to stop this, you’re going to get yourself killed one of these days.” Carlos watched as she pressed hard on a section of his shoulder, her frown deepening as she shifted back to clear some space on the ground beside them. “It’s definitely dislocated. Lay down, you should have let me do this before we left for the market this morning. It’s only going to hurt worse now that you’ve let it sit.” Shifting to lay on his back, Carlos took a slow breath through his nose as Evie brought his arm away from his body, bracing her feet against his side as she slowly pulled his arm upwards. Carlos squeezed his eyes shut at the sharp pain, trying to control his breathing as Evie continued to move his arm until they were reward with a soft clunk like sound, Carlos’ shoulder slipping back into place as he let out a soft cry. 

“I don’t try to antagonize her, she’s just like that.” Evie signed, reaching to help him up before getting up to find a piece of fabric to use as a sling. “E, no, I don’t need that. It’s fine.” Evie shot him a look, and he let out a heavy sigh as he leant against the wall again. 

“Wear it for now, at least. It’ll help make it hurt less, and it’ll keep it from slipping out of place again. Okay?” Carlos nodded, and Evie knelt to wrap the fabric around his arm, tying it carefully at his neck. “Are we sure this is going to work, C?” Her voice was soft as she adjusted the knot to sit to the side, lips turned in a frown as she stroked her thumb over the still red skin of his shoulder. Carlos gave a small shrug, his gaze meeting hers as his lips quirked into a half smile. 

“Either it works, or they’re gunna kill me. We’re halfway ready, Eve, don’t tell me you’re getting cold feet on me.” Evie moved to sit beside him, reaching to take the hand of his uninjured arm as she rested her head on his shoulder. 

“I’m not. I’m just worried that you won’t be able to break the barrier in time. I’m allowed to worry, asshole.” Carlos snorted, resting his head atop hers as they sat in silence for a long moment. “You might have been right about seeing if we can get Jay to get what we need from the Weird Science classroom. I don’t think I can pick that lock, I don’t have any  
practice with locks like that.” 

“I know. He’s our best bet, and I’m pretty sure we can convince him to help. It won’t take much, I don’t think…” Evie nodded, turning her face to press a light kiss to Carlos’ temple before pushing herself up to check on the cauldron again. 

“Where did you put the vials?” Carlos pulled himself up, making his way to the table to reach above Evie and pull two glass vials from one of the makeshift shelves, handing them to her before leaning against the table. 

“Are you sure this is going to work? We don’t exactly have something to test it on.” Evie shot him an unimpressed look, and he held up his hand with a smirk. “What, I’m just saying! It’s suppose to make him sick for a few days, I’m not testing it on me. And you aren’t testing it.” Evie poured the bubbling, deep purple liquid into the vials, corking them before moving to put the cauldron in the little wash area Carlos had set up. 

“I was thinking we could do a controlled test...I mean, Third and Junior steal your lunch pretty much every day, right?” She shot him a look, and Carlos’ grin widened as he caught on. 

“Oh yeah, they’d be a great test.” Evie chuckled, handing one of the vials to Carlos before holding up the one in her hand, inspecting it as Carlos spoke. “And if it’s stronger than we thought and we’re down two idiot bullies, I’m not going to complain.” Putting the vial down, she turned to watch Carlos for a moment as the younger teen shuffled his way back to the wall he had been resting against previously. 

“We just have to be careful we don’t get caught. Okay?” Carlos gave a tired nod, and Evie’s expression softened some as she grabbed a thin blanket from the table, moving to drape it over him. “Why don’t you have a rest for a bit? I’ll wash up, and then we can go to class and later we'll meet with Mal and Jay for the assignment. Sound good?” Carlos gave another nod, curling up on his side as Evie turned back to the table, a small frown on her face as she began to tidy up the work space.  
Their plan would be difficult to pull off. They had already spent two weeks preparing what they could- gathering ingredients for Evie’s mother’s poison, getting things set up for afterwards when they escaped from Hell Hall and took off towards the deserted side of the Isle. They still had so much to do, and she worried that they wouldn’t be prepared in time for their plan to work. She glanced at Carlos, the hint of a smile on her face as she noted that the other teen had already fallen asleep- he must have been exhausted, to have simply slumped over and passed out as he had. Her expression hardened some at the thought of why he was so tired, and her hand tightened on the cloth she had begun to scrub the table top with, upset that her friend had gone through it at all. 

Their plan had to succeed. If not...she wasn’t sure what they’d do.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry not sorry Gil's crush on Carlos surpasses into all my stories.

“What are they doing? I can’t fucking see from here, move it Jay.” Jay rolled his eyes as Mal gave him a shrug, handing over the cracked binoculars he had been using to try and see inside the elaborate treehouse that Evie and Carlos had unknowingly lead them to. Bringing the binoculars to her eyes, Mal cursed as she realized she couldn't see much more with the binoculars than she had been able to without, and lowered them to shove them into Jay’s hands again with a dissatisfied grunt. 

“Well what did you expect, Mal, we’re on the ground and they’re in a treehouse. Not exactly the best vantage point for spying.” Setting down the binoculars, Jay shifted from his spot behind the rusted wrought iron fence that separated Hell Hall from the main road, gaze drifting over the tall, white walls of the old victorian manor to the poorly shingled roof. “We could maybe get up onto the roof of Hell Hall, but I don’t know if Cruella’s actually home and I really don’t want to run into her if she is. Bitch is crazy.” Mal nodded, frowning deeply as she turned to lean against the fence, crossing her arms over her chest as she stared at the Castle Across the Way. 

“Whatever they’re doing, I want to know. Nothing happens on this island without me knowing about it.” Mal’s huff brought a snort from Jay, and she shot him a glare before glancing towards where the rest of town sat. “What if they’re staging a mutiny, Jay? What if the nerds want to take over?” Jay rolled his eyes, pushing himself away from the fence as he spotted three figures approaching them. 

“We can worry about that later. Uma and her Wharf Rats are here.” Mal moved to stand beside Jay, scowling at the three teens making their way down the road. 

“What are they even doing this side of the Isle? And this early in the morning?” Mal asked, eyes narrowing as she watched Harry give Gil a shove into a bush, the blond letting out a yelp as Uma rolled her eyes. “Shrimpy, what are you doing here?” She raised a brow, taking a few steps towards Uma as the other girl stopped walking, holding a hand out to still both Harry and Gil as well. 

“You don’t own this side of the Isle, Mal. We have as much right to be here as you do.” Mal glanced from Uma to her cohorts, snorting as Gil glanced anxiously from Mal and Jay to the house behind them. 

“Here to see de Vil? Little early, isn’t it?” Mal’s lips curled into a smirk as Uma’s scowl darkened, the pirate’s hands settling on her hips as she shot Gil a sharp look. Mal’s smirk grew as Uma let out a groan, pleased with how annoyed the other girl seemed. 

“Look, we paid for services from the Mutt. Good coin, too. So get out of my way or I’m going to introduce you to the sharp end of my knife, Mal. “ Mal snorted, taking a step back from the gate as Jay gave a small mock bow. 

“Who are we to stop you from getting what you paid for?” Jay commented, straightening up with a grin as Harry took an aggressive step towards him. Raising his hands in mock surrender he took a step towards Mal, eyes still locked with Harry’s as the duo stepped aside, allowing the pirates access into the yard behind them. 

“Don’t think this little interaction is a sign that we aren’t going to retaliate in regards to what you stole from C.J. Better watch your back, street rat. “ Jay rolled his eyes at Harry’s threat, watching as the three disappeared into the yard before turning back to Mal. 

“What do you think they paid Carlos to do?” He asked, curious of Mal’s opinions regarding the news. Mal gave a small shrug, gesturing for Jay to follow her as she started back towards the market, hands shoved in her pockets. 

“Could be anything. Maybe he fixed something for them? I mean word around town is you want something fixed, bring it to de Vil. Makes sense that’d be the reason.” Jay hummed, glancing back towards the house for a moment before shaking his head and draping his arm over Mal’s shoulder. 

“C’mon, Mal, let’s go to school. I don’t think it matters what they’re doing right now, they’ll have to make their way to the school soon too. Might as well be there waiting for them.” Mal nodded, shoving his arm away as she started towards the main part of town, a scowl still on her face as Jay followed silently behind her.

-=-=-

“Uma. I told you it wouldn’t be ready until tonight. The welding needs to sit to solidify at least 24 hours.” Carlos stared impassively at the pirate as she glared at him, his attention split between her and the two boys standing behind her. Evie sat on the edge of the work table, filing her nails as she waited to see Uma’s reaction to the words. 

“I need it now, de Vil. Change of plans.” Carlos gave a shrug, leaning to pick up the cutlass that sat on the table to offer to Uma, handle first. 

“It’s going to be weak where the handle meets the blade. Like I said, it needs the full 24 hours to set, you can’t blame me if it breaks again if you use it before then.” Uma snatched up the sword, inspecting the repair job before giving a nod to Gil, who extended his arm to the younger teen with a smile, pouch of coin in hand. 

“Are you still coming to dad’s thing tonight?” The blond asked, and Carlos gave a small shrug. 

“If moms going she’ll make me go to. So probably.” Gil nodded, and Uma shot him a look as she slid the cutlass into the sheath at her side. 

“You did good work, de Vil, but don’t go thinking you can be friendly with my crew.” Carlos shot her a look, lip curling into a sneer as he flipped her off. 

“Yeah, you can fuck right off, Uma. I’ve got bigger problems than you to worry about- you don’t scare me. “ Uma scowled, and Carlos gestured towards the rope ladder. “If you will?” Uma turned to exit the tree house, Harry following quickly as Gil waved over his shoulder, disappearing down the ladder after them. Carlos waited until the ladder stopped moving before slumping against the table, letting out a sigh. 

“You shouldn’t lead the poor boy on, C. That’s just cruel.” Evie teased him as he pushed himself from the table, and he shot her a confused look as he moved to start gathering his books. 

“What? I’m not leading anyone on, Evie. Gil and I just have to find stuff to do while our parents are doing...whatever it is they’re doing while we’re there.” Evie wrinkled her nose delicately, putting her file away in her bag before turning fully towards Carlos. 

“Are they sleeping together?” She asked, picking up a notebook to slide into her bag. Carlos snorted, zipping his bag up and giving his head a shake. 

“No. I mean I thought that was what they were doing but mostly they just sit around with Harry’s dad and drink, to be honest with you. It’s sort of sad, actually, in a 'look how far the mighty have fallen' sort of way.” He gave a small shrug, slinging the bag onto his uninjured shoulder before making a face. “Do I really have to keep this on, E? It’s going to get in the way.” Evie rolled her eyes, moving to pick up her own bag before taking Carlos’ from him. 

“It’s for your own good, Carlos. Besides, maybe we can use your injury to get Jay’s sympathy.” Carlos’ cheeks flushed slightly, and Evie grinned as she ruffled his hair before moving to the ladder. “Aww, little brother has a crush. That’s precious.” Carlos wrinkled his nose, kicking a stray bolt towards her as he followed her to the ladder. 

“One, that’s fucking rude, did no one teach you manners Evelyn. B, I don’t know if Jay knows how to feel anything but the rush of a steal and maybe being horny, so I don’t know if your plan will work. And last of all, can we please leave before my mother wakes up? If I’m at school before she leaves, maybe she’ll be in a better mood when she gets back from her appointment.” Evie’s expression softened some, and she started down the ladder, waiting for Carlos to catch up before the two started off towards the school. 

“Sorry, C, I forgot she was still home. Do you think the doctor might medicate her this time?” Carlos rubbed his sore arm, frowning some as they walked. His mother was going to be gone most of the day to see a doctor from Auradon- a psychologist, if Carlos recalled correctly, one who was writing a book about Cruella and her mental illness. Of course, his mother simply saw the sessions as someone taking an interest in her previous fashion career; a part of Carlos hated to see his mother so easily manipulated and used while another, larger part of him wished he had the ability to twist his mother’s narcissism against her himself. 

“Even if he does, she wont continue taking them once she’s left the clinic so why bother?” Evie frowned at the younger teens words, slipping her arm to loop around Carlos’ uninjured arm as they started off towards town. 

“Does she bring them home with her? We could probably get good use out of those pills if she wont.” Carlos hummed, giving a small nod as he squeezed the arm in his at the idea. 

“Yeah, I usually take the bottles after a few days, put them in my room. Not a whole lot we can do with antipsychotics though, she always knows when I put them in her meals.” Evie hummed, patting Carlos’ arm lightly as they entered the main part of town. 

“Well we could use them for other things. Cruella’s not the only one in Hell Hall who could benefit from a little chemical sedation.” She raised a brow as Carlos shrugged, pulling his arm free from her grasp as they made their way down the road. 

“He’s not going to fall for it as easy as Horace would, E. He’s smarter than that.” Evie frowned some, watching Carlos as they turned onto the main road that would lead them to the school. “Did you finish your Selfie’s portfolio last night?” Evie nodded, and Carlos gave a sigh as he shifted his bag to lessen the pressure on one of the bruises on his shoulder. “I didn’t have a chance, Gothel’s going to have a fit if I don’t hand something in. I was working on it when this happened.” He gestured towards his shoulder, and Evie made a soft sound of understanding as she slipped her backpack down from her shoulder to root through it before presenting the younger boy with a folder. 

“Well, luckily I come prepared for any situation. One Selfie’s portfolio, sir.” Carlos gave her a grateful look, taking the folder to tuck into his own bag as the sign for Dragon Hall came into view. They were technically early- school didn’t actually start for nearly half an hour, but the two had found that if they could make it before the first toll of the bell, they could avoid the Gaston’s completely and get to class on time. The two oversized oaf’s more or less left Evie alone; Carlos, on the other hand, had been dodging the two since starting school and had worked out a system to deal with them on the days their paths crossed, usually getting away with just giving them his lunch or slipping into an empty classroom to avoid being throw into a locker. 

“Thanks, E. You’re a blessing.” Evie grinned and Carlos rolled his eyes, giving her a nudge as they entered the school grounds. Both immediately spotted Jay and Mal, casually lounging on the stairs, and Carlos huffed as Mal gestured towards them in a ‘come here’ motion. “What do they want?” Evie snorted, squeezing Carlos’ arm before starting towards the two, and Carlos followed at a more sedated pace behind her, un-enthused.

“Mal, Jay. Can we help you?” Evie’s tone was clearly falsely cheerful, her wide eyes focused on Mal even as Jay shifted to stand up. Carlos stayed angled slightly behind her, hoping to avoid a conversation with the thief but sighing as the older boy caught his eye, a frown on his face. 

“Yo, what happened dude?” Mal’s attention switched from Evie to Carlos, her brow furrowing as she took in the sling the younger teen wore. 

“You didn’t have that yesterday.” Carlos rolled his eyes, adjusting his bag on his shoulder as he shifted on his heels, anxious at the sudden attention from the two as Jay took a step towards him. Evie easily sidestepped between them, blocking Carlos from direct contact with Jay as she shot him a heavy glare, and Carlos rested a hand on her shoulder as he gave the other two teens a look. 

“No shit, really?” The words were dripping with sarcasm, and Jay’s brows shot up at the snarky response as Carlos continued speaking, Evie still keeping him behind her. “I didn’t even realize I didn’t have a sling yesterday. Wow.” Evie turned slightly to shoot him a look, and Mal snorted as she crossed her arms over her chest. 

“Wow, someone woke up on the wrong side of the dog bed today. Chill, de Vil. He was just asking, no need to get your panties in a twist. We don’t actually care, don’t worry. I just wanted to make sure we were still meeting up for this stupid project after school today. Figured I’d catch you guys early or whatever instead of trying to chase you down during school.” Evie’s brow rose as she turned her attention to Mal, placing her hands on her hips as she gave the girl an appraising look. 

“We have three classes together, Mal. You could have just talked to us then.” A flush crept over Mal’s cheeks at the words, and Evie shot a surprised look at Carlos as the purple haired fae gave a half hearted shrug. 

“I guess. Didn’t think of that, actually.” She sounded unfazed by Evie's words, and Carlos cleared his throat as Freddie and Ginny pushed past him, smiling at Jay before slipping inside the school. 

“We are, by the way. Still meeting up. But I can only be out for about two hours. So you’d better be at the Dragon Statue by the time the second bell for let out rings, or else you’re on your own.” Jay and Mal exchanged a look at Carlos’ firm tone, and Jay held up his hands with a smirk as he took a half step back. 

“Alright, alright. We’ll be there, don’t worry. Wouldn’t want you to miss your five pm curfew.” Carlos frowned, and Evie shot a glare at Jay as she grasped Carlos’ arm to steer him around the duo and towards the school. 

“We’ll see you then.” She stated, pushing open the door to gently push Carlos inside and away from the two other teens. She let out a huffed sigh as Carlos shook off her hand, and reached to adjust the sling on the younger boy’s shoulder as they headed towards their lockers. “You can’t let him antagonize you, C. We’ll get this stupid project done and then we’ll never have to talk to them again, alright?” Carlos nodded, and the two moved down the hall, eager to start their day, nervous about what the afternoon would bring.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter is short, but important!

“Where are you, mutt?” 

Carlos pressed his back to the wall at the sound of Third’s voice, his fingers curled tightly around the small scalpel he’d grabbed off of one of the Weird Science lab tables as he watched the door carefully. Third had chased him from the cafeteria- he should have known better than to try to eat alone while Evie had been pulled behind in Selfie’s to speak with Mother Gothel- after he had handed over the sandwich he and Evie had laced with their poison to Junior. The older teen had eaten half of the sandwich before he’d toppled over with a groan, face red and sweat beading on his forehead as he clutched his stomach. 

“I’m gunna wring your neck, de Vil. What did you do to my brother?” Carlos bit his lip as a shadow passed by the door, the sound of one of the other classroom doors being flung open echoing in the hallway. He shuddered as another loud bang came from outside the classroom, slinking back against the wall more as the shadow stopped in front of the door, pausing a moment before the door handle began to turn. He raised the scalpel, brows furrowed as the door swung open, eyes wide as Third stepped into the room with a scowl. “There you are. What did you do to Junior?” Carlos darted back between two of the tables, fist wrapped around the handle of the knife as he ducked out of the larger teen’s reach. 

“I didn’t do anything, I was eating and he took my food!” Third frowned, and Carlos edged around the table to put more space between them, cursing the fact that he still had his arm in the sling, restricting his movements some.

“You did something to him! He’s puking all over the cafeteria, what did you do?!” Carlos winced as one of the smaller tables was flipped aside, a small part of him awed at the sheer strength the other boy possessed. He glanced towards the door, trying to judge if he could slip past Third and out into the hallway before the older teen could catch him. 

“I told you, he ate the food I was already eating, I don’t know why he’s sick.” Third’s scowl deepend, and Carlos scurried back as another table was shoved aside, ducking behind Yen Sid’s desk as though the larger, heavier wood would protect him from the second eldest LeGume’s anger. He gazed hurriedly around the room, trying to find a secondary escape route, and paused as he spotted a familiar face peering into the room at him, a small frown on his lips. 

“You obviously did something to the sandwich to make him sick, he was fine before he ate your sandwich. So now you’re gunna die.” Third’s words were punctuated with another table being shoved aside, the desk the only thing separating the two teens, and from the door Jay called out, catching Third’s attention. Carlos used the distraction to dart towards the door, though he hadn’t made it far when a large hand grasped his arm, pulling him backwards harshly. Carlos spun on his heel and drove the knife forward, the blade sinking into a muscular arm as Third cried out in pain, Jay making a surprised noise behind him as his fingers curled tighter around the handle. Wrenching the knife out of Third’s arm, Carlos slammed it down again, watching the blade sink just above the first wound with satisfaction before darting away, grabbing Jay’s arm as he passed him to drag him away from the room. The two ran down the hall, darting into an empty room to catch their breath once they were sure Third hadn’t followed them, and Jay let out a laugh as Carlos leant against the wall panting. 

“Wow, you just stabbed Third, dude.” Carlos shot a glare at Jay, straightening up and rolling his injured shoulder, wincing at the pain the movement caused. 

“In the arm. With a scalpel so it barely even counts. I should have used my knife but it’s in the wrong pocket.” Jay’s brow rose, and Carlos shrugged as he let his head fall back against the wall. He hadn’t planned to stab Third, but it wasn’t as though he’d never stabbed someone before- the blade wouldn’t have even done that much damage, truthfully. “Why are you looking at me like that?” Jay had moved to lean against the wall beside him, studying him with an unreadable expression on his face, and Carlos shifted slightly away from him as he frowned. 

“That was sort of hot, Carlos. You didn’t even hesitate, that was awesome.” It took Carlos a moment to realize that the flush across Jay’s cheeks hadn’t come from the short span of running they’d done, and his own cheeks reddened at the look Jay had fixed him with. 

“Shut up. What were you even doing there? Shouldn’t you be in detention with Mal?” Jay shrugged, and Carlos sighed as he let his eyes close for a moment. “I needed something in that classroom, fuck.” He muttered the words as he rolled his shoulder again, hissing as a line of pain ran along his arm. He jumped slightly as a large, warm hand dropped onto his shoulder, his eyes opening as Jay shifted him slightly to stand nearly pressed against the older teen, quick fingers pressing along the swollen joint of his arm socket as he gave a sympathetic wince. 

“What was he even mad about, anyways?” Carlos tried not to lean into the touch as Jay rubbed along his arm, wary of the gentle way the other teen handled him as he slipped Carlos’ arm from the sling to slowly start rotating it, working his thumb along the muscles. 

“His idiot brother ate a poisoned sandwich.” Jay paused, giving Carlos a surprised look, and Carlos rolled his eyes, gesturing for Jay to continue. “Evie and I had to test it on someone, and it’s not like they don’t deserve some misery. It’s not even that bad, it’ll just make Junior sick for a few days.” Jay nodded, sliding his hand down Carlos’ arm slowly, and Carlos bit his lip as he remembered what Evie had said back in the treehouse. He had argued that Jay wouldn’t be so easily seduced into stealing for them, but now standing with the other teen before him he couldn’t help but wonder if he might have been wrong. A small part of him felt a twinge of guilt at the idea of so blatantly using the other teen, but a much larger part knew it had to be done. Turning his hand to catch Jay’s as the thief rubbed down his forearm, Carlos tilted his head up to gaze at Jay through his lashes, biting his lower lip in a way that Evie teased him was more seductive than it should be. “Thanks for distracting him for me back there, Jay. You didn’t have to do that.” Jay’s cheek’s reddened, and he ducked his head slightly as he cleared his throat. 

“Well I couldn’t let my project partner get murdered, right?” Carlos gave a small shrug, and Jay hummed as he squeezed his hand some. “What uh. What did you need in the Weird Science classroom, anyways?” Carlos gave him a look, studying him a moment before licking his lips and tilting his head slightly. 

“Yen Sid has a couple acid’s locked away in the back of the classroom. Evie and I need one of them for a project we’re working on, but I don’t even know if I’d be able to get it...I’m not as good a thief as you are, and the lock he used is sort of complicated.” Jay’s expression brightened some at the mention of his thievery skills, and he tightened his hold on Carlos’ hand slightly as he offered the younger teen a grin. 

“Well, shit, I could probably get it for you if you wanted.” Carlos glanced at Jay, surprised at how quickly the other teen volunteered. He had expected to have to convince Jay to do it for him- nothing on the Isle came for free, and anything that did was suspicious. 

“What...do you want for doing it?” He was hesitant to accept the offer without questioning it; he knew Jay, was familiar with how the other teen worked when it came to doing tasks, and he wasn’t about to owe him anything if he could help it. Jay frowned, shifting on his heels some as he gave a small shrug before tightening his hand on Carlos’ again. 

“Nothing much. A kiss.” Carlos’ eyes widened, and Jay grinned widely as he took in how thrown off Carlos was at the request. “Which is hardly anything if you think about it, dude. I’m breaking into Yen Sid’s locked up shit, a kiss is like, drastically under paying for my services.” Silence settled between them for a moment as Carlos debated the request; Jay was the best thief on the Isle, and most likely the only person capable of breaking into the lock box hosting the acids. He wasn’t terrible to look at- Carlos could admit that Jay was an attractive person, certainly, and he himself had thought about what it would be like to kiss the older teen once or twice on a whim, but he didn’t like the idea of being forced to trade his first kiss like it was some sort of commodity. 

“A kiss.” Jay nodded, and Carlos huffed a sigh, thinking about how integral the acid was to his and Evie’s plan. There was little way around it; they had to have the bottle, they couldn’t whip up an acid strong enough to eat through the metal lock on Jasper’s door themselves. “I...why would you even want that? I could give you something else. We have brass candle holders at Hell Hall, wouldn’t you rather those?” Jay shook his head, and Carlos visibly deflated as he rested his head back against the wall. “Fine. Fine, you steal me the acid and you can have a kiss. Okay? But I want the acid first.” Jay frowned, and Carlos sank down to sit against the wall. 

“Two kisses.” Carlos glanced up at him, eyes narrowing at the look on the other teen’s face. “One and a half?” 

“Don’t try your luck. Go get my acid. It’ll be marked in purple.” Jay hesitated before moving to go to the door, and he pointed at Carlos as he paused halfway out into the hall. 

“Don’t go anywhere. I’m not hunting you down all over the school with this.” Carlos waved him off with a nod, and Jay disappeared out the door. Pulling his bag into his lap, he dug through it in search of something to snack on while he waited- Evie had given him an only slightly bruised apple earlier in the day, and he pulled it out to wipe it on his shirt before taking a bite, his stomach rumbling at the smell of the fruit. There was no way he was actually going to follow through with the kiss, the idea of kissing the older teen both tantalizing and terrifying all in one. He could, however, pay Jay for his effort; twisting the variety of rings he wore, some from Evie and some stolen from his mother’s jewelry box, he slid one of the smaller, less protruding ones from his thumb to hold up. It was a simple black and gold band, red and white stones sparkling in the dim light of the room, and he figured Jay could get a good price for it at his father’s shop if nothing else. Pulling his notebook from his bag, he tore a sheet of paper out to write on, scrawling a quick ‘thanks for getting the acid’ onto it before rolling it up to slot through the ring. Tucking his book away, he glanced up as Jay slipped back into the room, holding up the bottle triumphantly with a cocky grin as he sidled up to Carlos, the younger teen pushing himself up to stand before him. 

“That was quick.” Carlos bent to retrieve his bag from the floor as Jay scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest as he gave Carlos an unimpressed look.

“It wasn’t really that hard, man. So, our deal?” He held out the bottle, too high for Carlos to reach, and Carlos scowled as he took a step towards Jay. 

“Yeah, yeah. Can you uh.” He hesitated, chewing his bottom lip as he glanced away from Jay, his cheeks reddening as he rubbed his still sling free arm gently, “Could you maybe close your eyes while I kiss you? It’s sort of fucking embarrassing, having you stare at me.” Jay’s brow rose, and Carlos shot him a look, lips pressed in a tight line as his gaze flicked back to Jay. 

“Yeah, alright. Whatever works for you I guess.” Jay closed his eyes, his arms dropping to his side as Carlos took another step closer, sliding a hand down Jay’s arm as he watched the older teen’s face. Shoving the ring and note into the hand not holding the bottle of acid, he grabbed the acid and slipped away from Jay, quickly darting out the door to disappear down the hall as fast as his legs would carry him. He turned down the hallway leading to the cafeteria, pausing just outside of it to peer inside, looking for Evie. He spotted her almost immediately, sitting at a table with Mal perched beside her, and frowned as he took in the almost carefree smile his friend wore. The two girls were talking, Mal leaning into Evie’s personal space as she said something that made Evie laugh, and Carlos’ frown deepened as his fingers tightened around the bottle in his hand before he pushed open the cafeteria door, taking a quick glance to ensure both of the Gaston’s weren’t in the room. Making his way to the table, he slipped into the seat next to Evie, slipping the bottle into her bag as he turned his attention to the conversation taking place. 

“So you can just make paint? What the hell.” Carlos snorted as Mal gave Evie a baffled look, and Evie gave a little shrug as she smiled at the other girl. 

“It’s not too hard, really. It’s basic chemistry. Hey, C, where have you been?” Carlos tilted his head, blinking at Mal’s casual posture before turning his attention to Evie to answer her question. 

“Stabbing Third. Jay helped me out with that thing we were talking about earlier. The sandwich worked.” Evie raised a brow, and Carlos rolled his eyes as he leant on his good arm, his elbow on the table as he propped his chin up on his hand. “It was only a little stabbing. Barely worth noting.” Evie signed, reaching to run a hand over Carlos’ body to check him for injuries before shaking her head. 

“There’s no such thing as a little stabbing Carlos. We’re trying to lay low, remember? Good to know the sandwich worked though.” Mal narrowed her eyes, glancing between the two before clearing her throat.

“What exactly did your sandwich do?” Carlos quirked his lips, one shoulder bouncing in a half shrug as he nodded to where several goblins were still cleaning up the mess Junior had made. 

“Let’s just say Junior’s going to think twice about stealing my food from now on. E, I’m going to head to Plots and Poisons, I’ll see you there?” Evie nodded, and Carlos pushed his seat back, ducking away from the table to head out of the cafeteria now that he had delivered the acid to the older girl. He paused to glance back to where Mal and Evie were once more deep in conversation, frowning again before slipping out into the hallway, heading towards the classroom for their next class. 

The Mal and Jay situation could, potentially, prove a small hurdle in their plan. He'd have to look into that.


	5. Chapter 5

Mal huffed a sigh as she slung her bag onto the snaggled tooth of her mother's statue in the courtyard of the school, hoisting herself up to sit on the large flat space atop the dragon’s head as she waited for Jay, Evie and Carlos to meet up with her. Students wandered aimlessly from the heavy doors of the building, some heading towards the wharfs or the warehouses while others headed towards their home, ready to get to work to appease their parents. Mal had no plans to do either; while she and Jay did have their own hideout tucked in the warehouse district, and her mother often commanded her to do menial rotten tasks, she had a plan to meet up with Evie- and the others, she supposed- to work on their project. She had taken the opportunity given to her at lunch to sit with Evie when she’d seen the girl sitting alone in the cafeteria, the two falling into a conversation about art supplies almost as easily as if they were as close as Mal and Jay where. She had even made Evie smile a time or two, until Carlos had shown up looking spooked. Evie had grown oddly quiet after he’d left, a look of concern taking over the carefree smile Mal had managed to coax from the taller girl.

“Are you waiting for little old me?” A melodic voice drifted up to her, catching her attention and causing her to look down, her breath catching at the almost serene smile Evie had as she looked up at her. Nothing shone on the Isle- their entire existence was rot and decay, dirt and blood- but Mal could swear that Evie outshone anything in Auradon. She was beauty and grace with a side of lethality, and Mal was drawn to her like a particularly idiotic moth to a flame.

“I did say to meet me here, Princess. We have a project to do after all. Where’s your shadow at?” She glanced around, surprised to find Carlos missing as Jay made his way outside of the school. She had been watching Evie long enough to know the two were never far apart, but the younger teen was seemingly nowhere to be found. Evie gave a small shrug, tossing her bag up to Mal before reaching to swing herself up to sit with her as Jay reached the statue with a confused look on his face. 

“Where’s Carlos? I thought we were doing project stuff.” Mal rolled her eyes, shifting a bit closer to Evie as the blue haired girl gave a shake of her head. 

“I haven’t seen him since P&P, but I’m sure he’ll be here soon. We’ll have to do this pretty fast, he’ll have to get home in an hour or two.” She gave them a look that clearly stated that the time frame was non-negotiable, and Mal nodded. 

“Yeah, alright. But if that’s the case he’d better get his ass in gear and get out here. I wanna leave soon.” It took Mal a moment to realize she had completely lost Evie’s attention, the other girl staring intently at something across the school yard from her new vantage point atop the statue. Mal turned her attention in the direction Evie was looking, spotting what had caught her attention immediately. 

“What the hell is deVil doing?” The younger teen seemed to be picking his way through the crowd, stopping every few steps to hand things from his bag to other students. Evie huffed, crossing her arms over her chest as an almost fond look crossed her face, her focus on her friend. 

“He’s giving them things they need for their little siblings. Milk that hasn’t fully gone off, food that’s a bit easier for the little ones to eat. We make some of them clothes, because a lot of baby things don’t make it over to the Isle- apparently, according to my mother, Auradonians have a ridiculous notion of nostalgia when it comes to their children’s clothing.” Mal frowned at Evie’s words, her gaze returning to where Carlos stood showing one of the Step granddaughters how to use a strange object he was giving her. “They don’t pay him. I keep telling him that he should charge them, he’d make a killing, but he won’t. He never does when it comes to the littles.” The trio watched Carlos slip away from the girl’s attempt to reach out and touch him, two quick steps to the left and a quick hand raise before turning to walk towards them. 

“I didn’t realize there were so many runts on the Isle, I thought most of them got killed off. How do you guys know about them?” Evie gave her a strange look, shifting to swing her legs down over the side of the statue. 

“We deliver most of them, Mal.” Mal gave her a surprised look, and she slipped off of the statue as Carlos joined them. “And where have you been half the day?” Carlos gave a shrug, shifting his bag on his back carefully to accommodate his still restrained arm. 

“In the school. Are we doing this then?” Mal nodded, sliding down from the statue, and Jay shifted to stand next to Carlos, fixing the boy with a look. 

“You owe me something.” Carlos glanced up at Jay, expression blank as he tilted his head to the side slightly, and Jay frowned, pointing at the younger teen with a scowl. "Don't play that blank look shit, you owe me deVil." 

“Actually, I’m pretty sure I paid you for services rendered.” The look Carlos shot Jay left little room for further discussion, and Mal and Evie exchanged a look as the four started off towards the center of town where Bargain Castle stood. 

“So what exactly are we supposed to be getting from our parents, information wise? Past tales of glory, tips and murderous tricks, what?” Jay’s question was met with a snort from Evie, who rolled her eyes at Jay's general lack of information. 

“Why am I not surprised that you have no idea what we're doing. We’re supposed to be getting information about where they went wrong in their plots. Learn from their mistakes.” Jay gave a nod as beside him, Mal gave a mirthless laugh. 

“You know, I’m pretty sick of Gothel going on about learning from our parents mistakes. I know every fatal flaw from my mother’s plan, I am never going to repeat them. She’s just having them rehashing old information we’ve all heard hundreds of times.” Mal’s lips turn down into a scowl, and Jay nodded in agreement. 

“Yeah, if I have to hear my dad go on about Aladdin one more time, my head's gunna explode.” Carlos and Evie exchanged a look, the blue haired girl shaking her head slightly as the group spotted Bargain Castle ahead. 

“My mother has been informing me of how to avoid her failings since I was old enough to listen. She wants me to do better than she has so I can bring her with me. I’ve learnt quite a bit from her, to be honest.” Mal nodded slowly, taking in Evie’s words as they reached stairs leading up to the castle from the shop below, before turning her gaze to Carlos who had fallen silent. 

“And what about you, are you expected to live out the deVil legacy, Spot?” Carlos scowled, shoving his hands into his pocket as Evie placed a hand on the younger boys lower back, shooting a look at Mal that caused the other girl to hesitate before starting up the stairs. 

“My taking over anything would indicate I make it to adulthood in this fictional situation where we escape the Isle and exact our parents revenge.” Mal’s brow furrowed as she lead them up to her home, Carlos’ words sitting heavy with her. 

“What do you mean?” Jay asked, an edge of softness to his question as he watched Carlos intently for a moment, the two boys staring at each other in silence before Carlos looked away almost angrily. 

“Nothing. We’re here to talk to Mal’s mom right? Let’s do this, I have shit to do.” Evie shot the two a look as Carlos pushed past Mal to continue up the steps towards her entryway, and Mal exchanged a look with Jay before they followed. Mal pushed open the door, wrinkling her nose as a large raven darted towards the door, squawking loudly as the teens entered. 

“Oh shut up, Diablo. No one fucking cares you bag of feathers and shit.” Mal noted the quick way Evie had stepped in front of Carlos at the sudden appearance of the bird, and she tucked the information away before turning her attention fully to the bird. “Where’s mom at?” The bird cawed and Mal nodded, gesturing for the others to follow her into the main seating area where her mother was seated at the head of their kitchen table, as grim and regal as ever. “Hey, mom. You ready to answer some questions?” Maleficent gave a careless wave as Diablo landed on the back of her chair, and Mal sank into one of the chairs, motioning for the others to do so as well at the table. 

“Hey, Ms. M. Brought you some stuff from the market.” Jay slipped a handful of small, seemingly random items from one of his pockets onto the table, and Maleficent raised a brow before giving him a nod, lips quirked slightly as though she had considered smiling at the teen. 

“Thank you, Jay. Tell your father I’ll be stopping by tomorrow when you make your way back home tonight, would you?” Jay nodded, and Maleficent turned her focus on Evie, piercing yellow eyes fixing on the blue haired girl as she tilted her head as though curious about the creature who had sank into the seat beside her. “Aren’t you Grimhilde’s little whelp then? I thought I banished you a decade ago.” She didn’t seem upset, and Evie glanced at Mal- who seemed entirely too amused- before returning her gaze to Maleficent, gaze unwavering. 

“You had. Mal made sure to mention it when I first returned to the rest of the Isle. My mother had hoped that a decade was long enough to quell your anger over...I’m honestly not quite sure what you were so angry about, to be honest. We sent both you and Mal invitations to my birthday, you know. My mother may be many things, but suicidal isn’t one of them.” Maleficent gave a chuckle, leaning forward some in her seat as she regarded Evie for a long moment before chuckling darkly. 

“A fiery little thing, aren’t you. No wonder Mal’s taken such an interest in you. I’ll overlook the blatant disregard for you, but if I cross paths with your mother do let her know I will not be impressed. The woman grates on my nerves.” Evie gave a nod, eyes widening only a fraction at the dangerous tone of the woman’s voice before she was completely disregarded, Maleficent’s attention turning to the last member of the group of teens. She frowned, taking in the stiff way that Carlos sat in the chair between Evie and Jay, her gaze trailing over the two-toned hair and freckles before settling dark brown eyes whose gaze seemed to never waver from hers. “Carlos.” Mal started as Maleficent said the younger teen’s name, an air of familiarity in her tone that surprised her daughter and caused her to glance at Jay, noting both his and Evie’s confusion at the fact that Mal’s mother knew Carlos’ name.

“Maleficent. I assume the generator’s working sufficiently after the repair.” Maleficent gave a short nod, and Carlos settled back in his seat, eyes never leaving Maleficent as he continued to stare at her. “Good. Glad to hear it.” 

“Well, what sort of questions do you whelps have to ask for your little project then?” The sudden change of subject seemed to catch the remaining three teens off guard; Carlos simply leaning to withdraw a paper from his back to slide across the table towards the woman as Mal cleared her throat.

“Gothel wants us to get a basic where our parents went wrong thing happening and how we can do things better sort of thing. I know most of where you went wrong. Didn’t anticipate the prince coming, and now I know that princes will always get here. But you have to fill out that paper, say we talked to you about this.” Maleficent took the paper, looking it over and taking up a pen to begin writing as Mal continued. “If I wanted to take over the Isle, you already taught me how to do it. It’s just not worth taking over at this point, not without some shit getting fixed.” Jay snorted, and Mal shot him a look as Maleficent continued to write, non-pulsed. 

“You’re thinking to small, Mal. What have I always told you? Don’t seek to rule their trash when you can rule their kingdoms. Use those around you to rise above. Jay, should Mal ever deign to rise to the role she was birthed for, what are you to do?” Jay rolled his eyes, tapping quick fingers against the table top as he responded in a bored tone. 

“I’m the muscle. Quick, strong, and obedient, Ms. M.” Carlos shifted in his seat to watch Jay curiously a moment, and the older boy winked at him as Maleficent gave a small hum at his answer. 

“Correct. Though I’ll take your answer without the lip next time, boy.” Jay gave a quick nod, and Maleficent looked up to stare at Evie. “And you, what skills do you bring to the table, hmm? Spunk will only get you so far when crowds are baying for your blood, girlie.” Evie straightened in her seat, looking every part the royal princess she ought to have been had her mother never been caught. 

“Diplomacy. Manipulation, seduction. Not to mention potions; I excel in potion making, even if few still work here on the Isle. I’d be a considerable asset to any coup de tete.” Maleficent regarded her a moment before nodding, thought Evie couldn’t tell if the woman was pleased by her answer or not. Carlos shifted some in his chair, and Maleficent waved a hand towards him, causing him to still. 

“Stop looking so disgruntled, deVil. I already know your worth.” Her words gained another surprised look from Mal- her mother was rare to offer any sort of banter with people, let alone offer near praise of acknowledging someone’s potential worth- and a nonchalant shrug from the boy himself. “Though if you ever step out of line with me the way you did with Gaston, your death will be long and agonizing, do you understand?” Another shrug, as though the threat meant little to Carlos, and Maleficent signed before sliding the finished piece of paper back, turning her attention to her daughter who immediately straightened in her seat. 

“You may keep these three around, Mal. They all seem to be useful. Now go on, out of my sight.” She dismissed them with another wave of her hand, and the four pushed themselves from their seats to leave the room silently heading for the stairs. As they made their way outside, Mal turned to look at Carlos, eyes narrowing as she took a step towards him threateningly, fist raised. 

“Who the hell are you to be so familiar with my mother?” She hissed, causing Carlos to take a half step back as Evie moved in front of him, scowling at Mal as Jay moved to hold her back. An anger boiled within her at the way her mother had so casually given the boy half praises; more than Mal had ever gotten, and she was sure wholly undeserved. 

“I do work for her. Nothing more. Now if you don’t mind I really need to go.” It took Mal a moment to note the nervous look on the younger teens face was less from the confrontation and more from whatever was causing him to glance towards the opposite end of the Isle as though something was waiting to burst through the marketplace to attack him. 

“We totally have enough time to go talk to my dad, though.” Jay’s voice was tinged with confusion, and Carlos shot him an almost pleading look as Evie shook her head. 

“It’s fine, I’ll come with you guys and Carlos can go home.” She turned to Carlos, placing a hand on his uninjured shoulder to give him an unreadable look. 

“What, no? He doesn’t get to get out of the work, no way.” Mal’s distress at the idea was almost tangible, and Evie turned to fix her with a glare so icy it caused Mal to raise her hands defensively, taking a step back. “Or, whatever, we’ll do it. Sheesh.” Evie turned back to Carlos, reaching to untie the sling from around his neck before gently running a hand along his injured arm. 

“Go do your chores. I’ll come check on you when we’re done, okay?” Carlos nodded, turning with little more than a half hearted wave of dismissal to Mal and Jay before he disappeared, slipping down an alley. 

“What the hell, Evie. I’m not doing his share of the work.” Mal whined, crossing her arms over her chest as she nearly pouted. Evie rolled her eyes, picking up her back from where she’d dropped it to remove Carlos’ sling, and tucked the fabric square into her bag before turning to gesture towards the market. 

“Let’s stop complaining and just do this, alright? I have to get to Hell Hall as fast as possible.” Mal’s brows furrowed in confusion, but as Evie’s expression remained stoic she turned to start towards the market with a grumble, shoving her hands in her pockets as Jay lead the way. 

Whatever was up with the Nerds, she was going to find out.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys I'm so pumped for D3. I'm going to write ALL the fic to celebrate. There's going to be a one shot fic spree over at my tumblr in celebration over the weekend hmu ( davidelizabethbowiestrider.tumblr.com )

“-And that’s why you should never trust an idiotic genie to do as you command, children.” Evie gave a polite nod as Jafar spread his arms wide, avoiding staring at the strange stain across the front of the man’s shirt as she glanced quickly towards the clock ticking loudly on the crooked shelves on the far side of the room from where they sat. They had spent nearly two and a half hours listening to the ex-vizier ramble about his once-incredible plot to take over Agrabah, and she was beginning to grow anxious as her thoughts turned towards her friend. She usually was near enough to Hell Hall when Cruella returned from her therapy sessions to hear if things grew out of hand, quick to show up with some sort of invitation from her mother (and she hated to think of how many times her mother had found herself as unwilling hostess to the fashionista) to lure Cruella from her home and give her time to find and fix up Carlos before things grew out of hand. Normally, that would happen within the first hour of Cruella being home; the therapy sessions left her irate and irrational, more so than usual, and even when Carlos tried to avoid her she went out of her way to hunt him down in the falling apart mansion. Two hours was nearly unheard of, and she feared for her friend’s life the longer Jafar rambled on. 

“I’m so sorry to interrupt, Jafar, but I really must go. My mother wouldn’t stand for me to return to the castle after sun set, I’m sure you understand...it’s unfitting for a young lady.” Her voice was smooth and soft, and Jafar fixed her with an almost gentle smile as he moved to stand, gesturing for her to do so as well as Mal and Jay shot her looks of appreciation for stopping the man’s steady stream of words. 

“Of course, my dear. The streets after dark are no place for a princess, you’re right. Jadir, walk her home. I have business to attend to that I’d rather you not be here to poke your nose into.” Jay shrugged, moving to stand, and Jafar shot Mal a quirked brow. “Mal.” Mal nodded at him, the gesture seemingly the dismissal the man sought, and the three teenagers left, slipping out of the Junk Shop’s door into the streets of the market. 

“You’re not really going home, are you Princess?” Mal asked, stepping to Evie’s side as the blue haired girl began walking towards the road that would lead her to both her home and Carlos’. Evie barely looked at Mal, shouldering her bag as she held her head high, watching for any potential pickpockets as she threaded easily through the crowd. 

“No. Not that it’s any of your business, but I have to go to Hell Hall.” Mal gave a hum, following Evie as the girl continued through the people still wandering the streets, Jay following close behind as he picked a few pockets along the way. 

“Why? deVil already said he was doing chores or something tonight. He’s gunna be too busy for you.” Evie shot a glare at Mal as the smaller girl shrugged, shoving her hands into her pockets as Jay disappeared from her side into a small, dense gathering around one of the stalls. 

“I said it’s none of your business, Mal. Drop it.” She so rarely heard the level of iciness from Evie she was now; something about the conversation was raising the other girl’s hackles, and Mal needed to know what. 

“What, is he plotting world domination? Because really, that’s my shit so he’d better step off. It’s not like he could be doing something important, and we all know you’re smart enough to do your own homework so it’s not that. Are the two of you fucking? Is that it?” Her heart dropped a little at the thought, and she reached out the grab Evie’s arm, tugging hard to catch the girl’s attention. “Hey. Are you and Spot fucking?” Evie spun the face her, wrenching her arm from Mal’s grip with an underlying sense of urgency that caught Mal off guard as Jay reappeared beside her, startled. 

“Not that its any of your business but no we aren’t. And frankly I have more important things to worry about than you thinking we’re fucking, so stop it Mal!” She spun on her heel and started towards her road again, her pace quick as she focused on returning as soon as possible, and Mal stilled before hurrying to catch up with her, grasping her shoulder to give her a confused look. 

“What the hell do you mean by that?” Evie shook her hand off again, ignoring her as she hurried along the lane, and Mal turned to look at Jay, who seemed equally as confused. “Evie, wait up!” The two hurried to catch up to the girl, surprised at how much speed she seemed to have even in her heels, as the highest tower of Castle Across the Way appeared in the distance. “What’s crawled up your ass?” Evie’s attention was focused before her on the road, her steps redoubling as they crested the small hill that brought Hell Hall’s shorter roof into view, the road silent around them. 

“Fuck.” All three spotted the tall, slim woman leaning against the twisted wrought iron fence, casually smoking as she stared blankly at the castle across from her, and Evie slowed as they approached her, her steps careful as she stopped outside of lunging distance before the woman. 

“Auntie Ella, how are you today?” Mal and Jay exchanged a look at the sugary sweet tone of Evie’s voice, startled when Cruella turned her head to stare blankly at Evie for a long moment before a spark of recognition lit in her eyes and she offered the girl a languid smile. 

“Evie, darling. I’m quite well, of course. Look at you, such style! If only you worked in fur, my dear.” Evie smiled back at the woman, Mal and Jay stopping just behind her as Cruella’s gaze swept over the two before returning to Evie, an almost dazed look on her face as she took another puff from her cigarette, blowing lazy rings over their heads. 

“I know, Auntie. Mother would love to see you, hear all about your day I imagine. Have you seen Carlos?” Cruella’s lips curled into a sneer, and she tapped her cigarette against the wall before turning her attention to Evie fully.

“Who?” Evie frowned slightly, her gaze never shifting from Cruella as she took a small step closer to the woman. 

“Carlos...the puppy, Aunt Ella. Have you seen the puppy? I need to make sure he’s properly bathed before bedtime, remember? To keep his fur soft and clean? It’s my duty as your apprentice remember?” Cruella gave a half nod, fingers stroking over the matted fur of the stole wrapped around her neck as she nodded towards the house behind her. 

“He’s sleeping, darling. In the kitchen, I think, or perhaps the parlor. I can’t quite remember. He was being a naughty boy, so I had to punish him. Is your mother home?” Evie nodded and Cruella hummed, moving past Evie without another word as the teen stepped anxiously aside, worriedly watching after Cruella before turning to run into the house with a curse. Jay and Mal followed after her, curiosity peaked as Evie shoved open one of the heavy oak doors. 

“Carlos? Carlos, where are you?” Silence answered her, and she took off down the hall towards the kitchen faster than either teen had anticipated. She stilled momentarily in the doorway of the kitchen as she reached it, taking a look around before spotting one booted foot from behind the isle countertop in the middle of the kitchen and rushing to it, her eyes taking in the scene before her with a relieved sigh. Carlos sat against the wall nearest to the stove, awkwardly scrubbing at a dark stain on the tiled floor. “Carlos! Why didn’t you answer me?” The younger teen continued to scrub the spot, his head down as his hand moved the sponge forward and back, and Evie frowned as she knelt beside him, reaching for his shoulder. Carlos started at the touch, looking up from his work to stare at Evie with a frown as Evie’s brows furrowed, Jay and Mal moving closer behind her to look over the other teen as well. “What happened?” Carlos’ frown deepened as he eyes focused on Evie’s mouth, reaching to rub at one of his ears as he let go of the sponge. 

“What?” His voice was louder than usual, and Jay and Mal exchanged a look behind Evie’s back as Evie reached out to gently touch the ear Carlos had rubbed, her fingers moving with familiarity over the line of his jaw to check for swelling as Carlos scowled at her, wincing as cool fingertips brushed a large, bloody gash on the side of his head. “I can’t- everything’s ringing, E. She smashed my head off the counter when I told her I didn’t have her laundry done yet.” Evie’s fingers moved from the injury before she stood to inspect the counter, immediately spotting the blood smear where her friend’s head had connected with the hard marble of the counter. 

“Did you tell her you didn’t have the laundry done yet, or did you mouth off to her?” Evie’s tone was slightly accusatory as she moved to take the sponge to put in the sink, and Carlos gave a half hearted sneer as he watched her turn on the tap to wash and wring it before moving to scrub the blood from the counter. 

“Oh yeah, I just love to antagonize the crazy lady, Evie. Nothing I love more than having my head smashed into marble counters until I puke and then having to clean it up while my head feels like Claudine Frollo is using it as the school bell.” His words were slightly slurred and Evie moved to kneel beside him again with a frown as she tilted his face up some, noting the dilation of his pupils and the way he shrank away from the light as she did so. 

“I think you have a concussion, Carlos. Are your ears still ringing?” Carlos nodded, slowly, and Evie sighed as she looked around. “How much more do you have to do for your chores?” Carlos blinked at her, as though the question was needlessly complicated, and Evie’s frown deepened as she reached around him to pick up the long list from the floor beside Carlos. “Did you get all of it done besides her laundry?” Her surprise was audible as Carlos gave a half smirk, leaning his head back and closing his eyes as Jay and Mal took a few steps closer, Mal’s brows furrowed in thought. 

“Did most of it this morning before school. Can someone hand me that bucket by the counter? I think I’m gunna hurl again. “ Evie frowned, turning to reach for the bucket before realizing Jay had beaten her to it, holding it in front of Carlos. 

“Here dude, lean forward some. “ Carlos allowed Jay to shift him forward over the bucket, frowning some as he glanced over at the older boy. 

“What are you doing here?” Jay offered him a shrug, and Carlos shook his head, wincing at the sharp pain the movement caused. “No, no you can’t be here. Mom’s home now, you have to go before she sees you.” Evie reached out to rub Carlos’ back lightly, catching his attention. 

“Cruella’s gone to my place, C. She’s not here, it’s okay. “ Carlos nodded before hunching over the bucket to vomit, causing both Jay and Evie to wrinkle their noses. “We need to get him to the treehouse.” Evie murmured, keeping her voice low as Carlos let out a soft whine. “Jay...can you help me?” Jay nodded, and beside them Mal tapped Evie’s shoulder, an unreadable expression on her face. 

“What can I do?” Helping someone who wasn’t Jay was foreign to her; you didn’t help people on the Isle, not if you wanted to keep your belongings and your life. Evie fixed her with a curious look for a moment before nodding towards the door leading from the kitchen to the back yard. 

“You can get the door. C, Jay’s gunna help me get you standing but you have to tell me if you’re going to throw up again okay? Because if you puke on me I’m going to be upset.” Carlos gave a small nod, and Jay looped an arm around the smaller teens waist, waving Evie off as he slowly pulled Carlos upright. Evie slipped against his other side, helping hold him upright as Mal moved ahead of them to push open the door. They moved slowly, Carlos’ eyes squeezing shut as the room around him spun, and Evie directed them through the maze of traps strewn around the backyard to the base of the large oak tree in which Carlos’ treehouse sat.

“How do we get up there?” Mal asked, peering up at the bottom of the impressively sized building tucked into the tree’s branches curiously. Evie shifted, waiting until Jay had Carlos’ full weight before slipping to the side of the tree, doing something to release a sturdy looking rope ladder. 

“He’s got safety precautions, of course, but I know pretty much all of them. Carlos, can you climb?” She moved to stand beside the two boys, frowning as Carlos’ head listed slightly to the side for wide eyes to stare at her, seeming to have a hard time focusing. “Carlos. This isn’t even the worse you’ve had this month, stop it.” Her voice held an edge of fear, and Carlos blinked a few times before attempting to push himself away from Jay. 

“I can do it.” His words were still slurring some, and he leaned heavily to one side as he reached to put a hand on the ladder, taking one half step towards the tree before stumbling slightly. Jay reached out to steady him with a frown, slipping an arm around him again as he glanced at the ladder. 

“I can carry him, but it’s not going to be too comfortable.” Evie hesitated a moment, knowing how much Carlos hated being picked up by anyone, before realizing that they had little options and giving a nod. 

“He might struggle. He hates being picked up.” Carlos made a disgruntled noise, twisting in Jay’s grip to level a half hearted glare in Evie’s general direction. 

“He’s standing right here, you know.” He murmured, though he put up little fight as Jay shifted him before slinging him over his shoulder, securing him before starting up the ladder. The girls followed silently, and once all four were in the treehouse Evie pulled the ladder back up, shooting a hard look at the house before turning to face Jay and Mal. 

“There’s some bedding in the back corner. Could you go put him down there? Mal, I need you to go to the sink there and run some water, there should be a bowl and a cloth there as well that you can use. Carlos, you have to stay awake, remember? Head injuries. We’ve been over this.” Carlos grunted, and Jay and Mal both moved to do as the blue haired girl stated, Mal immediately impressed with how collected Evie seemed. Clearly the girl worked well under pressure; something Mal had suspected, but now knew for certain. 

“So this treehouse is pretty cool.” Jay stated, putting Carlos down onto the small nest of blanket and pillow that was tucked into a corner before looking around, impressed. Evie hummed, moving to pull a small box from one of the shelves before moving to sit beside Carlos as the younger teen sprawled over the floor. 

“Carlos and Diego made it...what, seven years ago, C?” Carlos gave a half hearted nod while Evie took the bowl and cloth from Mal, the other girl moving to stand beside Jay as Evie began to clean the blood from Carlos’ head. 

“Needed a place to bring the stuff I didn’t want mom ruining.” It was murmured into Evie’s thigh as Carlos pressed his face into her lap, and Mal gazed around as she took in the impressive assortment of science related items gathered on shelves and tables as well as the television tucked to one side, a tangled array of wires and electrical parts scattered over the floor. 

“I do chemistry related work here, and Carlos does most of his electronics building here. But the entire place is booby trapped so don’t even think about trying anything like breaking in. You won’t get far.” The two other teens nodded slowly, and Evie wrung out the cloth before gently wiping at the decently sized gash across Carlos’ head, frowning as the younger teen winced at the touch. “C, this is going to need a few stitches I think, unless you managed to get butterfly bandages?” Carlos frowned a moment before slowly sitting up and gesturing to the box sitting beside her. 

“I made a deal with Anthony for some medical stuff the other day, I think butterflies are in there. His family still gets stuff sent straight to them from Cinderella’s so I figured…” He trailed off with a shrug at Evie’s hard glare, wilting a little under her intense gaze. “Evie, don’t. We need good medical supplies. I don’t care if you hate him, he has stuff we need.” Evie huffed, and Carlos rolled his eyes with a wince as she opened the box to remove the bandages before turning her attention back to the cut on his head. 

“If Tremaine’s giving you trouble, Blue, I could do something about it.” Mal’s voice startled Evie, and she turned to look at the other girl a moment before offering her a half smile. 

“I can handle Anthony Tremaine, Mal, but thank you. Could you hand me that blue bottle from the table behind you? I still think this needs a few stitches. “ Nodding, Mal grabbed the bottle to pass to Evie, wrinkling her nose at the strong smell of its contents. 

“Ugh oh my evil what is that? It reeks!” Evie snorted, handing the bottle to Carlos and helping to steady his hands so he could take a drink from it. “Is it a potion?” Mal’s curiosity was peaked, and she moved a bit closer as Carlos made a face. 

“It’s gin. We have a distillery set up in my basement. Mom likes her booze when she’s feeling nostalgic. Or cranky. Or happy.” He handed the bottle back to Evie, tilting his face upwards slightly before giving her a small nod, letting her pour a bit of the gin over his wound with a sharp intake of breath before she dabbed at the wound. 

“This really does need a few small stitches Carlos. She must have hit your head off the corner too, from the looks of it. “ Carlos groaned, leaning his head against the wall with a sigh. 

“Okay. Just...gimmie a second. “ Evie nodded, reaching for the box to pull out a needle and thread before pausing to look closely at Jay. The older boy was kneeling beside Carlos, practically hovering over the smaller teen in thinly veiled concern. It was almost as though he cared that Carlos was injured; Evie frowned, threading the needle skillfully as she subtly watched as Jay reached out to rub his thumb against Carlos’ shoulder lightly. A quick glance at Mal showed the purple haired girl watching her, and a plan began to form. 

“She does this all the time, and it’s starting to get worse. This has to stop, Carlos, next time she might kill you...or get Jasper.” She noted the look Jay and Mal exchanged, ducking her head to hide the upward quirk of her lips as Jay shifted closer to Carlos. 

“Dude...this happens a lot?” Carlos gave a small nod, glancing up through his lashes at the older boy and giving him what Evie liked to call his ‘pity poor Carlos’ face. Mal frowned, crossing her arms over her chest as she watched the three seated on the floor. 

“Couldn’t you run away? I’m sure someone would take you into their gang, you’re smart and shit.” Carlos shrugged, his gaze sliding to the floor as Evie reached to tilt Carlos’ head to the side, revealing a the remains of a painful looking rope burn around his neck that looked to be a week or two old. 

“You don’t think he’s tried? Cruella will find him.” She ran her fingers over the bruises, her frown deepening as Carlos’ eyes met hers. “Cruella will always find him. And if she doesn’t, Jasper does.” The shudder Carlos gave wasn’t just for show and Evie’s fingers pressed slightly harder to distract him some. “We’ve tried running. We’ve tried hiding. We even tried fighting but we aren’t exactly the brawny muscle type like you two. We’re running out of options.” Silence fell over them as Carlos shifted closer to Evie, tilting his head to give her access to the gash as she moved to start stitching him up, Mal and Jay watching. It took less than five minutes for her to finish, snipping the thread and placing the butterfly bandages before carefully brushing Carlos’ curls back into place to hide the wound. She jumped slightly as Mal cleared her throat, the group turning to look at her. 

“Well...what if we got rid of Cruella and Jasper then?”


	7. Chapter 7

“What do you mean, get rid of?” Carlos’ voice was soft as he shifted back against the wall, watching Mal curiously as Evie handed him the bottle of gin again, urging him to take a drink. He did so, wrinkling his nose at the taste but knowing it was the closest thing to a pain killer they had-and he knew he shouldn’t be drinking with a severe concussion, but he hadn’t died from doing so yet- before corking the bottle to place to the side. 

“I mean get rid of her for good. Kill her. She wouldn’t be the first person taken out on the Isle. “ Carlos chewed the corner of his lip, watching Mal carefully for a few minutes before listing slightly, closing his eyes to re-orientate himself as the room spun slightly. 

“And by we I assume you mean Evie, myself, and what...the two of you?” Mal nodded as Carlos opened his eyes to level a gaze at her, and Carlos gave a half hearted snort. “And what would be in it for you? No one does something for nothing.” Mal shot a look at Jay, the two seemingly communicating with their eyes alone before Jay spoke.

“You help us regain turf from the pirates, we’ll help you get rid of Cruella. We can offer protection as a part of our gang as well.” Carlos and Evie exchanged a long look between them before Evie nodded, slow and deliberate as she reached to pull Carlos closer to her side. 

“We don’t do anything for a few days, until Carlos’ concussion gets a bit better. But...that sounds like a deal.” She spit in her hand and held it out, Mal following suit as the two shook on the deal before wiping their hands off, Evie turning to Carlos. “You’re coming to my place, C. Dont even try to argue; I’ll just get Jay to lug you there. My mother’s leaving in a few hours to go to Troll Town, and I’m not leaving you here in the treehouse where you could get confused and fall out of the tree while I go meet with Ginny.” Carlos sighed, nodding complacently as Evie gave a satisfied hum, pleased with his easy compliance. 

“Just for the night. You know I can’t disappear for the entire weekend Evie. It’ll make it worse when I come back.” She nodded, and Mal clapped her hands. 

“So what, slumber party at Castle Across the Way? Sounds good.” Evie’s brow furrowed as she turned to stare at Mal, a baffled look on her face.

“I don’t believe I recall inviting you, Mal.” Mal snorted, waving a hand as she moved to help Evie stand up from where she had been kneeling, dusting off the girl’s shirt with a cheerful smile. 

“I don’t need an invitation, Evie. We’re in the same gang now, we stick together. Isn’t that what you and Carlos do?” Evie frowned, offering a half nod at the girl’s words as she stood waiting for Mal to continue. “It’s fine. I’ll even come with you for whatever you need to see Ginny for, since it’s getting dark out.” Evie hesitated a moment; she could certainly take care of herself, but the number one rule of the Isle was to never be alone at night if you could help it. She looked at Carlos, who had slumped some in his spot as Jay moved around him trying to make his seating area a bit more comfortable by folding some of the bedding to brace him up against the wall with. 

“If you come with me, then Jay has to stay with Carlos. I don’t want him left alone.” Carlos gave a small whine in complaint to the statement, though Mal and Jay both nodded at the term. 

“That’s fair, you guys don’t really need me if you’re just going to Ginny’s place. I’ll stay here with Carlos, make sure he’s okay.” Carlos shifted back against the bedding rolled up behind him, eyes closed as he held up a hand. 

“Once more, sitting right here. Would appreciate if I was included in the conversation about me.” Evie rolled her eyes, moving to place a hand on the top of Carlos’ head to run her fingers through his hair. 

“I know. But you’re concussion is pretty bad this time, C. I’d feel better if I didn’t leave you alone.” Carlos grunted, and Evie sighed. “We shouldn’t be gone too long. Jay, keep him in the tree house and pull the ladder up after us. If Cruella or…” She stumbled slightly on her words, paling slightly as she glanced at Carlos. “Or Jasper comes back here looking for him, stay quiet. They’ll give up eventually. Don’t antagonize them.” Jay nodded, and Evie stroked over Carlos’ forehead before turning to Mal, gesturing for her to go down the ladder first. Mal gave Jay a small salute, disappearing down the hole before Evie turned to stare at Jay for a long moment. “If you let anything happen to him while I’m gone, I swear to all that’s evil I will make you suffer, and then I will kill you. Am I understood?” Jay nodded, and Evie vanished down the hole next, hollering up after a moment for Jay to raise the ladder. Jay moved to do so before turning back to Carlos, taking a moment to take in the younger teen as he sat in silence. He could almost see the pain radiating off of the other boy, from the tense way Carlos held his body to the wrinkle in his forehead caused by the smaller teen squeezing his eyes shut. Moving closer to Carlos, Jay settled to sit next to him, watching the wall for several minutes as he listened to Carlos’ steady breathing. 

“You don’t have to stay, you know. Evie gets a little paranoid with head wounds, but I’d be fine alone.” Jay frowned, shifting to nudge Carlos gently until he looked at Jay, eyes widening as though he was just noticing the other teen sitting as close as he was. 

“Well I wouldn’t want something terrible to happen to you if I just left, Carlos. That’d be pretty sucky.” Carlos gave him a confused look, and Jay offered him a grin, shifting to slowly put an arm around Carlos’ shoulders, guiding him to lean on him. “I’m sort of fond of you, dude. I mean both you and the Princess but mostly you, even if you guys are totally using us for this murder plan I know you guys already have planned.” Carlos stilled at the words, and Jay let out a laugh. “Dude. You didn’t think you guys were being sneaky about it, did you? As soon as Evie started her ‘woe is Carlos, he’s being beaten up at home, wah wah what do we do?’ schtick I caught on. Mal probably did too. But like...it’s alright. I’d probably do the same.” Carlos let out a slow breath, eyes wide and slightly unfocused as he stared at Jay for several minutes in silence as though the older teen was a particularly interesting puzzle. 

“You’re going to help anyways?” His voice felt so small, like the world was so much bigger than he was, and he closed his eyes in confusion as Jay chuckled beside him. 

“Well...yeah. I mean I’m still mad at you about cheating me out of our deal, but I’m not gunna sit around while Cruella and whats-his-name are beating the shit out of you. You’re...you know.” Carlos tilted his head, peeking one eye open to look at Jay as he shifted slightly to half lay against the wall on his right side. 

“I really don’t. I didn’t even know you knew my actual name until the other day, Jay. You’ve been shoving me into lockers for the past two years.” Jay flushed slightly at that, leaning his head back against the wall as he stared at the ceiling as he gave a small huff.

“I mean yeah, but I was mostly doing it cause like….you’re a nerd but also you’re hot? I mean have you seen yourself? I couldn’t think of another way to uh. Touch you. You and the Princess sre hot and super smart, you kinda make yourselves unapproachable.” Carlos frowned, opening both eyes to watch Jay as the flush spread over his cheeks and down his throat, intrigued. 

“I’m really not-I have seen myself, yes, and it’s pretty underwhelming actually. A scrawny runt covered in scars and bruises? Not exactly the picture of attractiveness.” Jay frowned, turning to look at Carlos better as he shook his head. 

“Dude. No. Okay. You’ve got mad muscle under all those layers you wear, I’ve seen it. You’ve got this like….okay but your face? Your eyes? Ugh don’t even talk to me about those freckles like do they go all over your body man? No you, you are fuckin’ attractive. Shut up.” Carlos stared as Jay ducked his head some, embarrassed at his outburst. “I just, you know. I think you’re hot. You should know that by now, you’re a freaking genius. I know you know I think you’re attractive, dude.” Carlos’ lips quirked into a half smile, impressed with Jay’s small rant. No one had ever outright complimented his looks without coming across as, well, a creep before. The odd person in the market would make a comment- his sharp cheekbones, his doe like eyes, how pretty he’d look under the catcaller- but Jay’s words felt as though he meant them completely with no intention of trying to trap him in an alleyway. He hesitated a moment before reaching out to drag his fingers up the sharp line of Jay’s jaw to hook around his neck, pulling him close enough to press his lips to the thieves, the kiss quick and simple, barely lasting a moment before he pulled away to settle against the wall again, closing his eyes at the spinning room the sudden movement caused.

“You’re smarter than you look, Jay. Might have to keep you around. We’re not even any more, by the way, I’ve now paid you twice for the lock picking.” Jay opened his mouth to argue but found a hand over his mouth as Carlos stilled beside him, head tilted to the side as he stared at the hole the ladder had been in. Jay frowned as the sound of footsteps became audible, and both teens started as a deep voice rang out below them. 

“Hey now little boy, come on down. The missus says its time for the basement now. “ Jay’s gaze slid to Carlos, noting how the younger teen paled at the words as he kept his hand pressed to Jay’s mouth and his back pressed to the wall, silent. “Let’s not start this hide and seek bullshit, Mutt. I’m not in the mood.” Carlos curled closer to Jay almost subconsciously, squeezing his eyes shut tight as a shudder ran through him at the tone of the man’s voice. There was a noise like something smacking into the trunk of the tree, the man below making a disgruntled growl as someone else cleared their throat. 

“Maybe he’s not up there, Jasper. Missus said the princess was here, maybe she took him away. Maybe we just go get some beer from Ursula’s instead? He probably won’t be back tonight, we can get him in the morning.” The voice was softer than the first, and Carlos relaxed some as Jasper grumbled before agreeing, the footsteps heading back towards the house. He waited several minutes to be sure no one had stayed behind before dragging the bucket to himself again, leaning over it to vomit. Beside him Jay hesitated before reaching out to rub his back, noting the way the younger teen shook under his touch. 

“What’s in the basement, Carlos?” Carlos shook his head, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand as he took a shuddering breath, leaning slightly into Jay’s touch. He took a few deep breaths before murmuring something just loud enough that Jay’s sharp hearing could pick it up, and the answer left a cold shiver down the older teens spine. 

“Punishment.”

-=-=-

“So what do you need to see Ginny for anyways, Blue?” Mal’s question was spoken casually as she balanced on the low wall behind Madam Mim’s Used Cauldron Shop, the duo waiting for Ginny to show up to the designated meeting spot. Evie shot Mal a look as she searched her bag for something, pulling out what looked to be a small jar of something plum coloured before zipping her bag back up, moving to lean against the wall of the store. 

“She has some parts for Carlos. We came to an agreement, some new lipstick for the parts.” Mal slipped down to sit on the wall, reaching to take the container and opening it to peer inside. 

“Did you make this?” Evie nodded, reaching to take the container back to close it up again. 

“I make a lot of makeup to trade. Makeup is just chemistry, Mal. In the end it’s pigments and wax and powders.” She looked up startled as Mal reached to brush a strand of her hair behind her ear, the shorter girl giving her an oddly serious look. 

“You are just..sort of amazing, did you know that. I know we sort of treated you and the mu-Carlos like shit but I wasn’t kidding when I said I want you in my gang, Evie.” Evie frowned slightly, shifting away from Mal’s touch some. 

“And let me guess, in your bed? I’ve seen the way you look at me when you think I’m not watching, Mal. And contrary to what people seem to think, I don’t sleep with whoever happens to compliment me. I have standards.” Mal’s eyes widened fractionally and she reached to grab Evie’s hand, stilling the other girl from pulling away more. 

“I don’t think that, Evie. I’ve never thought that about you. I think you’re attractive, yeah, I mean I’ve got eyes. But you’re smart and you’re cool and super loyal, if this whole thing with Carlos is anything to go on. And I want that, I want to be included in that and be the one to make you laugh at dumb jokes. And you’ve got an evil streak, trying to use Jay and I to kill Cruella and Jasper and making it seem like our idea.” Evie’s brow rose as she glanced at Mal through her lashes, a small smile gracing her lips. 

“I figured you might catch on. Are you going to refuse now that you know our plan?” Mal gave a shrug, shifting closer to Evie as she gave her a sly smirk. 

“Now why would I do that? If I help you with your plan, not only do I get to do some dastardly business but I get to spend time with you. Sounds pretty win-win to me, Blue.” Evie shook her head some, rolling her eyes as Ginny appeared at the mouth of the alley. The tall, thin girl stalked her way towards them, her eyes darting from Evie to Mal and back as she reached their spot and placed her hands on her hips. 

“I didn’t realize you’d have an escort, Evie. Do I have to be worried here?” Evie shook her head, holding up the pot of lipstick up as she raised a brow. Ginny rolled her eyes, holding up a small bag, and Evie reached for it before Ginny pulled it away from her, a smirk lighting up her face. “Ah ah, no. I managed to find some other parts that the mutt might be interested in, I want to talk to him about raising the price.” Evie scowled as she drew her hand back, glancing from Ginny to the bag as she debated the girls words. 

“Well what do you have? It might not even be worth his time, and I’m on a tight schedule here, Gothel.” Ginny snorted as she tucked the bag against her side, taking half a step back as she chuckled. 

“Someone dumped an entire box of car parts in the barge. I got most of the good pieces, but none of the heavier stuff. Just what I could fit in the bag. And I want deVil’s fancy first aid kit that I know he has. The one you guys have been stocking for the past few weeks.” Evie frowned, giving her head a firm shake as she placed a hand on her hip.   
“Not happening. We need that kit more than you do, Ginny. I’ll give you my tube of eyeliner too.” Ginny hemmed, shifting on the heels of her feet as beside Evie, Mal shifted forward, her smirk widening as she gave Ginny a dangerous look. 

“I’d take the eyeliner, Gin. Evie’s under my protection now, and I don’t like when people toy with my crew you know? Carlos could use those parts, and it’s not like you have any use for them. Hand them over and take the makeup and be on your way.” Ginny hesitated a moment as Mal’s eyes flashed green before shoving the bag into Evie’s hands, taking the makeup and scurrying away without another word to the blue haired girl. Evie turned to look at Mal, an impressed look on her face, before tucking the bag into her purse. 

“Well...thank you for that. I wasn’t looking forward to bargaining with her.” Mal shrugged, and Evie moved to pass her, pausing long enough to press a quick kiss to the corner of Mal’s lips before turning to head back towards her home. “That’s for helping. Don’t expect it too much.” Mal grinned as she pushed herself away from the wall to follow, humming contently as the two walked. 

“Well alright then. Why don’t I treat you to something from the Slop Shop before we get back to the boys?” Evie shot her a dark look, skillfully avoiding Mad Maddie and Third as she shook her head. 

“No. We have to get back now. Carlos has a concussion and Jasper should be back soon if he isn’t already.” Mal gave her a look of trepidation before nodding, matching Evie’s quickened pace easily. 

“Okay. I still don’t get why you guys seem scared of a henchman of all people…” Mal’s words petered off at the dark look Evie shot her, and she cleared her throat awkwardly as they continued to walk. 

“...he’s the one who did all of the actual work for Cruella back before. He’s not just a henchman, Mal. He’s…” she frowned, rubbing her arm as Hell Hall came into view. Mal opened her mouth to urge her to continue, though her words escaped her as Evie grabbed her arm to pull her behind one of the crumbling stone walls lining the road. 

“Wh-“ Evie clamped a hand down on Mal’s mouth, hissing for her to be quiet as two men passed their spot, talking loudly. 

“-he’s not dumb, Horace, he knows that if he doesn't come back by tomorrow the missus will make it ten times worse. We’ll get him in the morning, take him to the basement...noone’ll even notice the runts missing unless the Princess comes ‘round for him. Madame will be pleased that he’s been punished, the runt will stay out of our way while he recovers from his punishment, and we can go down to the races.” Mal frowned, reaching to pull Evie’s hand from her mouth as the two men passed, remaining silent until the two men disappeared into town. 

“What does he mean, take Carlos to the basement? What’s he gunna do, lock him down there? We can just break him out, Blue, it’s no big deal.” Evie shook her head, taking Mal’s hand to drag her towards the gate to Hell Hall’s yard firmly. 

“We can’t break him out Mal, Jasper will be there with him. He’s always in the basement with Carlos when he’s being punished. You have to help me keep him away for Hell Hall until his mom cools down. Please.” Mal’s expression softened at the almost frantic look on Evie’s face, tugging on her hand to get her to stop just under the treehouse. 

“Hey, don’t worry about it, Evie. Jay and I will help. Okay?” Evie gave a nod, and Mal squeezed her hand before letting go to allow the other girl to get the ladder down.

She was even more curious now to see what would happen.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ack this took forever to do and it's not as long as I'd hoped it would be- I just finished moving and life's hectic right now! But now that we're starting to settle I should be back to normal posting schedule!

Carlos was warm. 

Heat was a rare commodity on the Isle- most electrical equipment had been scrapped and stripped for parts long ago, traded for food or used for bartering. Anything that hadn’t remained functioning due to Carlos himself; hours spent adjusting generators and working on faulty wires making him almost invaluable to the residents of the Isle. The quick fix furnaces and dirty fireplaces of the slowly sinking cesspit they called home offered little actual heat, and Carlos was certain that neither his room in Hell Hall (with it’s broken window, broken walls, broken everything) nor his hideaway in the old oak tree behind the manor retained nearly as much heat as surrounded him currently. It was almost too warm- like a suffocating pile of furs or the burning touch of the boiler in the basement that only sometimes worked, the one Jasper had tied him to the last time he’d been dragged to the basement- and he gasped as he sat up, eyes opening to a dimly lit room that certainly didn’t belong to him. His gaze darted aimlessly, a heavy throbbing in his head and sleep blurred eyes making it difficult to understand where he was. His heart pounded in his chest; was he still trapped in the basement? Had his mother finally made good on her promise to sell him to one of the many villains still seeking minions in a bid to retain the feeling of their younger years?

“You’re fine, Carlos. You’re in Evie’s room, and no one is going to hurt you.” Carlos swung his gaze in the direction of the voice, his head hazy as he tried to place it. He squinted at the girl lounging on Evie’s window seat, casually flipping through a book without looking in Carlos’ direction, and frowned. 

“Mal?” The purple haired girl nodded, closing the book to put it back on Evie’s bookshelf before moving to settle on the side of the bed, reaching to carefully brush a stray curl from his face with a gentleness he hadn’t known she possessed. 

“Yeah. Evie and Jay are downstairs making something to eat. Hows your head feeling?” Her fingers continued to pet through his hair, causing him to shrink back uncomfortably at the contact that mirrored his mothers own misguided attempts at comfort on the rare instances she felt more than disdain towards him. 

“It, uhm. Head hurts.” It was a little hard to think; still dizzy and a bit disoriented, he had to fight down the urge to vomit again as the room swam around him. Mal’s fingers rubbed lightly against his temple, soothing some of the pain that was making his vision swim. 

“Not surprised there. You were unconscious when Evie and I got back to the treehouse. Jay said you were talking one minute and then out the next. Evie was pretty worried. “ Carlos frowned as Mal moved to adjust the pillows he laid against in an effort to make him more comfortable, careful eyes tracking Mal’s movements as she then settled next to him on the bed. He knew better than to trust her sudden kindness; he assumed she knew his and Evie’s plans weren’t spur of the moment now, and couldn’t figure out what she was playing at. 

“Why are you being nice to me? What do you want, Mal?” Mal frowned at his question, crossing her arms over her chest as she studied his profile for a moment before responding.

“To have you and Blue join my gang. I have muscle with Jay, and I’m smart, no doubt, but not in the ways you two are. Evie’s got her seduction routine and her incredible knowledge of chemistry going on for her. And i haven’t met someone who can enter Jafar’s and leave with just the item they needed before, mot to mention you can make almost anything. You’d both be assets to the gang, and I protect my assets. Plus you’re starting to grow on me, Pup.” Carlos scowled, letting his head fall back against the pillows as he let out a slow breath through his nose. 

“Please don't call me that. I assume you know we’ve been planning to kill Cruella and Jasper for some time now, then.” Mal nodded, reaching to pat Carlos’ arm with a smirk. 

“I think we might have fallen for Blue’s plan if we didn’t know how independent the two of you try to be. Cruella’s batshit, sure, but she can’t be that dangerous. And I doubt one little henchman could make the two of you as upset as you seemed-you just don’t want to get your hands dirty.” A blank expression fell over Carlos’ face at the mention of Jasper, his entire being curling into itself as he shrank back against the pillows, away from Mal. “Hey, I...what? What did I say?” Carlos shook his head, his gaze dropping to the blanket spread over him as his hands fisted the material. “Carlos?” She shifted back, and Carlos released a breath at the newfound space between them. 

“Have you ever seen anyone actually die on this island?” His question was softly spoken as he stared down at the bedding, his expression unreadable as Mal considered his words. She’d heard stories about unnamed villains meeting their doom in the shark infested water surrounding the Isle, stories of epic bar fights that ended in bloodshed and boasted victories, but…

“I...no. No, I’ve never seen anyone die here. I don't even know the name of anyone whose died here, now that I’m thinking of it...why?” Carlos gave a mirthless laugh, dark and bitter as his fingers picked at the frayed threads of the blanket, and a foreboding feeling settled heavily in the pit of her stomach. 

“Do you know how much blood you have to lose before you die?” The question threw her off, and she furrowed her brows as she gave a shrug. 

“A lot?” She guessed, and Carlos glanced up at her with an almost amused smile as he watched her shift uncomfortably. 

“40%. And depending on where the injury occurs, bleeding out can take as short as minutes or as long as hours...even days if you’re meticulous on how you do it.” Mal’s confusion grew as Carlos slid the collar of his shirt down, exposing the still bruised flesh of his throat. “There’s an artery here that makes you bleed out in the matter of minutes.” He traced along a white scar, one that Mal had never noticed before. “It’s not ideal if you want your victim to suffer longer than a few minutes; most people pass out before they actually die when that happens, and if you aren’t careful you can severe the nerves and they won’t feel it after the initial injury. Most people who die this way, they’ve usually already done their suffering. Their murders would have grown bored of them by the time they cut the corated artery.” Mal’s face paled at the description, and Carlos released his collar, his knees sliding to his chest as he wrapped an arm around them, staring at her. 

“Carlos...how did you get those scars?” She had a faint idea; with the line of conversation, she had a terrible, horrible feeling that Carlos hadn’t asked her about deaths on the Isle to simply strike up conversation. Carlos tilted his head slightly, watching her still as he watched understanding dawn in her eyes. 

“Did you know that the magic that brought some of our parents-that brought Maleficent and Grimhilde, brought Jafar- back from death makes up a large portion of the barrier?” Mal’s expression grew into mortification as she realized exactly what Carlos was saying, her mind taking in the logic of the idea even as her heart cried out for it not to be true, revulsion running down her spine as she realized how, exactly, Carlos could have learned the information he was about to impart to her. “Did you know that it prevents them, and anyone else under it, from dying? It just heals, and heals, and lets you get so close but it never releases you. Just slowly knits you back together for the next round of punishment. That's the punishment King Adam deemed appropriate for our parents...and us.” Mal’s mouth fell open, horror written on her face as behind them, the door to Evie’s room opened. 

“Woah. What did we miss?” Jay’s voice drew both of their attention, the long haired teen standing in the doorway holding a rusty silver tray with four cracked bowls on it. Mal made a discontented noise, half turning towards Jay. 

“The barrier keeps people from dying. Did you know that?” Jay’s brows furrowed in confusion as Evie pushed past him holding her own tray with four mugs. 

“What? That’s impossible, Mal.” Carlos curled into a smaller ball, and Evie placed her tray on her vanity, taking a steaming mug and handing it to Mal before taking another, moving to sit beside Carlos to pry one of his hands free to take the drink. 

“No, Mal’s right. The magic in the barrier prevents anyone from dying who lives within it. King Adam decreed that our parents must live with the consequences of their actions-key word, live.” Jay frowned, bringing the tray into the room to set down beside Evie’s as he watched the blue haired girl help guide the chipped mug to Carlos’ lips as Mal gave an appreciative hum at the bitter coffee. 

“So what, we’re all immortal?” Evie scrunched her nose as she glanced at Jay, giving her head a slight shake as the thief began handing out the bowls of soup. 

“On the Isle we can’t be killed. We can’t die of starvation or illness. But I think we still can die of old age, since we’ve been aging? And once you step foot off the Isle, you can still die in the water between it and the barrier. My cousin drowned last year.” Mal gave Carlos a confused look as he spoke, and the younger teen took a sip of his drink before continuing. “Ivy. Not Diego. She got caught in the rip tides when the Turncoat sank, her and Smee’s son. Everyone thought they’d just gone to one of the small islets but Smee brought my uncle her body back…” he fell silent for a moment before Jay handed him a bowl, offering him a half smile. “So not immortal. But almost.” The group fell into silence as they ate, contemplating the information before Mal set down her half empty bowl with a frown. 

“That injury to your neck. You should have died, shouldnt have you? That’s why it scarred like that.” Carlos nodded, staring intently at the bowl in his lap, and Mal’s frown grew. “So how can we kill Cruella and Jasper? I assume you have a plan. Tell us.” Carlos and Evie exchanged a look, and Evie clutched at the mug in her hand as she spoke. 

“Carlos can make a hole in the barrier large enough to break the magic long enough to have the deaths be permanent.” Both Mal and Jay looked skeptical, and Evie hurried to continue. “He already has but there was an...issue, when it happened. Carlos would have died too if I hadn’t closed it.” Two sets of eyes turned to Carlos, who rubbed his neck lightly before glancing towards the window. 

“It takes more than just Evie and myself to get it done, unfortunately. My mother may be crazy, but Jasper is still in his right mind, and he’s very intelligent for someone who lets himself be called a henchman. I think he might know that I’m capable of breaking the barrier.” He let his hands drop to his bowl again, picking it up to drink from it.

“So we have to both break the barrier and incapacitate Jasper, is what I’m hearing?” Jay asked, a small frown tilting his lips as he leant down to take both Mal and Evie’s now empty bowls. Evie nodded, and Mal gave a hum, idea’s running through her head as she thought on the information the two other teens had provided. 

“Could you break the barrier right now?” She asked, glancing at Carlos as the freckled boy gave her a considering look. 

“I still need to repair the power source for the box I made that broke it, I’m waiting for some copper wires and a D volt battery to come in on the barges before I can do that. So maybe by the end of next week?” He shrugged, finishing off his soup before letting Jay take his bowl as well. 

“Alright. So we’ll work on that throughout the week. In the meantime, we need to discuss our first action in the pirates issue. Uma thinks that I’m just going to roll over and give her turf, and she’s wrong. But I need to figure out something big that will show her that she shouldn’t mess with me. With my territory.” Evie hummed, and Carlos cleared his throat after a moment. 

“We could set their ship on fire. Half of it is covered in highly flammable pitch...I know, I made it for them. It wouldn’t take much, and Evie and I have all the ingredients to make some fire bombs for sure. Would that be big enough?” Mal smirked as she reached out to ruffle Carlos’ hair, the younger teen shrinking back some away from the touch while making a face. 

“That’s perfect, Carlos. Evil, Jay, we should have hooked up with these two ages ago, what were we thinking? That’s what we’ll do.” Jay snorted, and Evie rolled her eyes as she shifted to run her fingers through Carlos’ hair, tilting his head back to watch his pupils carefully. 

“But not before Carlos has had some rest. We had a deal, Mal.” Mal nodded, and Jay placed the bowls on the tray, moving to sit beside Mal as Evie tucked the blanket around Carlos more. “Good. Alright, C, I want you to take a nap. Jay, sit here with him and wake him up every so often to make sure he hasn’t died. Mal, you need to take a shower. Come on, I’ll show you where you can wash up and I’ll lend you some clothes.” Mal waggled her eyebrows and Evie signed, pressing a light kiss to Carlos’ temple before pulling Mal up, leading her out of the room by her hand. Carlos snorted as the door swung shut behind them, and Jay cast a look his way. 

“They’re going to get together before the end of the weekend, ugh. Evie’s been checking Mal out for weeks now.” Jay chuckled, moving to settle beside Carlos on the bed, and Carlos shifted to lean against Jay with a huff. “Don’t try anything.” Jay nodded, and Carlos let his eyes slid shut with a soft sigh, letting the darkness take take him as he quickly fell asleep.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I 100% apologize to anyone who came here for the Malvie I suck at writing it.

“Cruella deVil…..Cruella deVil. If she doesn’t scare you...to see her...hmmm..sudden chill….” Jay groaned as he pulled the pillow he’d been using over his head, a chuckle greeting him as he shifted to nudge the body seated beside him. 

“Doesn’t your mother hate that song?” He grumbled, pulling the pillow away to squint in the dark at the boy leaning back against the beat up headrest. “What time is it? Why are you awake?” Pushing himself up from where he had been laying face down on Evie’s mattress, he frowned as he took in the darkness around them. “Are you okay?” Focusing his attention on the younger teen, he noted that Carlos seemed to have a sketch pad in his lap, using the moonlight that filtered through the sheer curtains to write by. 

“Yes, my mom hates that song. It’s almost four in the morning I think? I woke up and was sick and I’m waiting for my stomach to chill out before I try laying back down. Don’t, uh. Step on my side of the bed before I can clean it up. Did I wake you up?” Rubbing at his face, Jay shook his head as he glanced around the room. 

“Not really. Where are the girls?” Carlos shifted, closing his book as he half turned to face Jay. 

“They went to sleep in Grimhilde’s room. Not really enough space in this bed for four people to sleep comfortably. I can go get them if you need them?” Jay shook his head, reaching to press his fingers lightly to Carlos’ chin, tilting his face slightly to judge his eyes. 

“No, it’s okay. Your pupils are still a little too dilated for my liking, maybe it’s a good thing you woke up when you did.” Carlos frowned, pulling back slightly from the warm hand. 

“Why are you touching me?” Jay frowned, letting his hand drop as though Carlos’ words had burnt him. 

“I just wanted to see how your focus was. No need to freak out.” He reached out again, running his fingers through short curls to seek out the lump and stitches carefully. “It feels like the swellings gone down some. That’s good. Are you still feeling nauseous?” Carlos gave a half shrug, and Jay tightened his fingers slightly, causing Carlos to give a slight nod. 

“Yeah. Head hurts too, but it’s not the worst injury I’ve had. I figured if I was already awake I might as well figure out some semantics for setting the Revenge on fire. I drew up a basic blueprint of the ship, marked where it would be most logical to start the fires for the most spread. Do you...want to see?” Carlos’ question was spoken almost shyly, and Jay nodded as he shifted closer to the younger teen, allowing Carlos to open the sketch pad to a detailed ship blueprint and slide it into his lap. Jay gave a soft, impressed whistle, letting his eyes take in the scrawled notes written across the pages in a language he didn’t recognize. 

“Hey, what do the words say? They aren’t in english.” Carlos blinked at the book, giving a small snort as he reached to rub at his eyes tiredly. 

“Sorry, I usually do my schematics in french. Force of habit- my mom did all of her designs in french, you know? And I just...picked up the habit. Or if it’s something for Evie I usually write it in Spanish or German.” Jay shot him a confused look, and he gave a half shrug. “Like I said, force of habit. They’re just labeling the parts of the ship. I don’t know how much you know about nautical vessels?” Jay shook his head, pointing to the front of the ship on the page. 

“I know that’s the front, that’s the back, that’s a sail annnnnd that things called a mast, right?” Carlos nodded, an amused look on his face as Jay smirked. “That’s all I’ve ever needed to know. And now I have you to tell me parts of a boat so I’m not   
too worried.” Rolling his eyes, Carlos reached to take his book back. 

“Ship. A vessel the size and caliber of the Revenge is called a ship.” Jay waved the comment off, releasing the book and allowing Carlos to take it back. 

“Boat, ship, it’s gunna be ash by the time we’re done with it right?” Carlos snorted, leaning back against the pillows and closing his eyes.

“Provided things go according to plan. If we hit the Revenge while the crews away, there will be less chance they’ll be able to save the ship. “ Jay shot him a look, and Carlos shrugged. “It’s the most logical way to do it, truthfully. And I’m suppose to do some pitch repair work tomorrow for them, I could probably do some set up without them realizing.” Jay hummed, reaching over Carlos to take his book to put on the side table. 

“Okay. We can talk about what the plan is in the morning, after we’ve gotten some sleep. How's the nausea?” Carlos stiffened as Jay hovered over him, slightly uncomfortable at the closeness of the other teen. 

“Manageable, I suppose. I don’t think I’m going to throw up again, so there’s that. I’ll probably be okay to sleep if I prop myself up some.” Jay moved away from Carlos for a moment, shifting the pillows some before gesturing for Carlos to lean against him. 

“Here, lay on me. You’ll be more comfortable, and I can sleep just about anywhere with anything on me. Perks of sleeping on a pile of shitty rugs under a death trap shelf full of t.v’s. I won’t bite, promise.” Carlos shot him a disbelieving look, unamused as Jay rolled his eyes and reached out to manhandle him into laying half on top of him. “Is that comfortable?” Carlos shifted a bit before nodding, resting his cheek on the older teens chest with a soft sigh. 

“This is ridiculous. I could have just used pillows.” Carlos’ grumbling was lost in the fabric of Jay’s shirt, and Jay snorted as he ruffled Carlos’ hair gently. 

“Nah dude. We’re a team now. Team’s totally do this sort of stuff all the time. Don’t worry about it.” Carlos shifted to tilt his face towards Jay’s, a small frown on his face at the words. 

“Doesn’t mean I’m comfortable with it, Jay. I’m not use to being touched like this.” Jay gave Carlos a confused look in the dark and Carlos gave a sigh. “Nicely. In a way that doesn't...hurt for days afterwards. It’s suspicious.” Jay frowned as silence settled over them, neither willing to further the conversation as the lay together, the stiffness seeping from Carlos as he realized Jay wasn’t about to harm him. 

“Are you really okay with joining our crew?” Carlos started at the soft voice, blinking tiredly as he tilted his head up to look at Jay. He thought over the older boys words, thinking back to earlier in the day, when Third had been after him. 

“It’s practical to have a group to take care of one another. Especially when Evie and I aren’t always the most physically threatening. And...there are worse people I could imagine being teamed up with. So yeah, I’m alright with how the situation has changed. Especially if it gets me my end result regarding my mom and Jasper.” Silence fell between them once more, a heavy stillness that lasted nearly long enough for Jay to fall back asleep before Carlos’ voice caught his attention. “What’s...uhm. What’s your dad like, Jay?” Jay took a moment to think about Carlos’ question, frowning slightly as he considered his father. 

“He’s old and fat now, and all he really cares about is finding the one big haul that’ll make everything okay again. He can be an asshole if I don’t get him enough when I’m stealing, and he’s definitely not afraid to smack me around if he thinks I’m being too sassy...he thinks a pile of rugs is a good bed, he’s definitely not father of the year material.” Jay glanced towards the window, where the top most parts of Hell Hall were just visible in the darkness. “Though compared to your mom he’s not as terrible as he could be.” 

“Crews watch out for each other, right?” Carlos’ words were slurred some, his fingers tapping a rhythm against Jay’s chest as he closed his eyes. Jay cleared his throat, trying not to move under the younger teen and scare him off. 

“Totally. I watch out for Mal, and she watches out for me. Sort of like Evie and you look after each other, right? So now Mal and I will watch over you and Evie and you guys can watch over us.” Carlos hummed, his fingers tapping over his chest as he tried to piece together his next sentence. 

“Do you want me to take care of Jafar for you?” Jay gave a start at that- the offer sounded genuine, even if Carlos seemed to be beginning to fall asleep on him. 

“Do I...what do you mean, take care of dad?” Silence greeted him, and he pressed a finger into Carlos’ side in an attempt to coax more words from the younger teen. “Carlos?” Nothing but silence again, and he let out a sigh as he settled back against the pillows, a little concerned at the idea of Carlos going up against his father. He wouldn’t allow it, of course; hell, Carlos was concussed- he most likely wouldn’t even remember saying it.   
-=-=-

“I don’t think I’ve had an actual breakfast, uh, ever. Is this what you’ve been doing in this big old castle all this time? Hoarding food and having a big lonely bed?” Mal let her legs dangle from the cracked marble counter she sat upon, her heels kicking the cabinets as she dipped her finger into the bowl full of strange batter Evie was working on. 

“Snow White sends us care packages once a week. It usually has better food than what comes on the Isle, so we eat a little better than everyone, yes. We would have offered some around but, well.” A spoon slapped Mal’s hand away from the bowl, and the purple haired girl wrinkled her nose as she pulled her hand back to hold against her chest. “Someone decided to ban us from the rest of the Isle so we decided to keep it for ourselves. Keep your fingers out of my batter.” Mal waggled her brows, leaning into Evie’s space as she licked the batter off of her fingers. 

“You didn’t want me to keep my fingers out of your batter last night, Princess.” Evie snorted, and Mal couldn’t help smiling as she watched the other girl pour what was left of the batter into the pan on the stove top. “In fact, you liked my fingers in your batter if I recall properly.” Purple nailed fingers grasped the edge of the counter as Mal slid to the floor, moving to wrap her arms around Evie’s waist as the blue haired girl placed the small fried cake onto a cracked porcelain plate. 

“There, that just has to cool off and we can eat it.” Placing the spatula- it’s broken handle in dire need of a visit from Evie’s glue gun again- on the counter Evie allowed Mal to guide her to sit at the table, the shorter dropping to kneel between Evie’s knees. 

“Well, I can eat something right now while we wait…” Evie flushed as Mal’s fingers slid up her thighs, dipping under the large sleep shirt she wore to draw circles against the soft skin under her fingertips. 

“Mal…” Mal grinned at the soft gasp as her fingers pressed closer to Evie’s inner thigh, her hair falling into her eyes as she slowly pushed the other girl’s legs wider apart. 

“Evie.” Mal’s tone was teasing, and a flush spread over Evie’s cheeks as she let her chin drop to watch Mal, her teeth pressing against her lower lip as the fingers drifted higher, slow teasing movements that caused Evie’s breath to catch as she slid a bit lower in her seat. Mal shifted on her knees, pausing at the sound of footsteps coming from the stone stairs leading out of the kitchen, and the purple haired girl cursed as she pulled away from Evie, her hands sliding to rest on the other girls knees instead. 

“Boys are up.” Evie whispered, eyes darting towards the stairs as Mal let her head drop into Evie’s lap, pressing her nose against Evie’s thigh with a groan. 

“Boys have terrible timing.” Mal’s words were muffled against Evie’s leg, and Evie couldn’t help but laugh at the petulant tone in the other girls voice as she slowly moved to stand as Jay appeared in the stairwell, guiding Carlos slowly behind him. 

“Alright just take these last few ones slow dude. No need to go too fast and faceplant.” The girls watched as Carlos allowed Jay to maneuver him into the kitchen, Mal moving to stand behind Evie’s chair as she rubbed the other girls shoulders, her expression softening at the careful way Jay followed Carlos as the younger teen moved to sit at the table. 

“How are you feeling, C?” Evie’s voice was soft as she slid a pitcher of somewhat clean water towards Carlos, the condensation leaving a trail of water across the scuffed wood. 

“Threw up last night but I feel alright now. Little dizzy and I have a headache but I’ll live. Did you make pancakes?” Jay moved around Carlos as the younger spoke, brow raised as he glanced towards the stove curiously. 

“Whats a pancake?” Evie’s attention flickered from Carlos to Jay for a moment before she answered the question, pushing herself up from her seat to get the plate from the counter. 

“These are potato and egg pancakes that were fried in lard. Real pancakes are like….little really soft bread, I’ve heard? Anyways, dig in.” Carlos took two of the largest pancakes from the plate to put on the table in front of him, gesturing for Mal and Jay to take theirs as Evie took one to rip into pieces before she began eating. Mal moved to sit beside her, letting out a soft groan at the almost pleasant taste as she took a bite. 

“These are so good. Ugh, how are you gorgeous and good at cooking?” Evie snorted as she continued to nibble on her pancake, and Carlos rolled his eyes as he quickly devoured his own. 

“A perfect wife,” the freckled teen stated, monotone as though he were reading aloud, “Must know how to cook, to clean, to cater to her husbands every whim. A perfect wife is only as good as her ability to keep a perfect house. Perfect face, perfect poise, find yourself a perfect boy.” He shoved the rest of the pancake into his mouth as he shook his head with a scoff.

“My mother wanted to ensure that should I ever get off the Isle, I’d be able to lure in a rich, powerful husband. Clearly she’s delusional- when I get off this sinking cesspit I’m going to become the most famous fashion designer in all of Auradon. And I’ll have a castle of my own, no prince needed.” Evie’s voice was firm as she nudged another pancake to Carlos, the entire table watching as he grabbed it and stuffed it into his mouth. 

“Those are pretty lofty dreams, Blue.” Mal drawled as she finished off her pancakes, brow raised as Evie leant back in her seat to give a shrug. 

“Aim high, right? Why, what’s your dream?” Mal rolled her neck as Evie popped the last of her own pancake into her mouth, watching as the blue haired girl licked her lips before clearing her throat, flicking some hair from her face as Jay slid her the pitcher with a smirk. 

“I’m going to take over all of Auradon. And Jay’s going to have all the treasure he could ever want.” She poured some water into a dirty glass before glancing at Carlos. “What about you, Spot?” Carlos barely looked at her as he began sweeping the crumbs from the table into his hand. 

“I’m going to live somewhere that my mother can’t touch me.” His voice was quiet as he moved to clear the table, and Mal frowned as Jay moved to help him before turning to give Evie a look, taking in the stern look on the other girl’s face. 

“Don’t worry C...that’s definitely going to happen.” Carlos gave a small shrug, and Evie’s shoulders dropped as she slumped in her seat, her eyes on Carlos. Mal’s frown deepened, and she tapped her hand on the table, pulling her lips into a wide grin as she gained the groups attention. 

“So. Let’s get planning some arson, why don’t we?”


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to everyone who keeps reading and commenting on this, y'all are the REAL stars ( And shout out to my lack of editing because I know how much it stresses taytayloulou out )

“Don’t touch anything. I mean it, Jay. Carlos spent a lot of time getting all of this stuff together, and he’s taken fingers for less before.” Jay dropped the bottle he’d been holding, giving Evie a sheepish look as he took a step away from the table tucked against the far wall of the treehouse to stand next to Mal. Carlos had sent them to retrieve what they would need to get to make the fire bombs while he returned to Hell Hall to do his chores, the plan being for the group to make the bombs before heading out under the cover of dark. 

“I can’t imagine Carlos cutting someone’s fingers off.” Mal’s words were disgruntled as Evie piled several bottles and containers into her arms, and Evie shook her head.

“He’s a lot more dangerous than people think. We both are, but people overlook us which works to our advantage. Just hope you never make him angry.” Jay reached to take some of the bottles from Mal before she could drop them as Evie spoke, tucking them into the bag he held. “Just because he’s smaller and quieter than everyone else doesn’t make him any less of an Isler, you know.” Mal huffed, leaning against the wall as Evie dragged a rotten looking stool over to one of the shelves to pull a final container down, handing it to Jay. “So why are you guys at war with the pirates? Your turf doesn’t even meet up, and it would be impractical to try to take over that large an area with just two people. So. Explanation, since we’re risking our lives for your little vendetta.” Mal frowned, moving to put the bottles into the bag before turning back to face Evie. 

“We just don’t get along, alright. Plus the pirates are trying to move into our turf and if I don’t take an active stand then they’re just going to take over.” Jay snorted as he closed the bag, giving Mal an amused look as he slung it over his shoulder. 

“You dumped a bucket of rancid shrimp on her like an asshole because she teased you. And now the two of you are mortal enemies.” Mal shot him a dirty look, and he gave a shrug. “I'm not wrong. But the pirates are brutal, and I stand with you in that they need to be taken down a few pegs to keep them in their place. Besides, I stole something from C.J and now they’re all up in arms about it, like I don’t steal from just about everyone. Carlos said that he knows where to hit the ship to hurt them most, so that’s cool. The quicker we deal with them the better, and Mal broke Uma’s stupid sword last time we fought so we have an advantage there.” Evie winced as she rummaged through a bin near the small sink, pulling some tattered fabric and what looked like a weird steel pair of tongs with some sort of greyish stone attached to it. She moved to put them into the bag as well, giving the two a sheepish look. 

“Ah, Carlos fixed that for her, sorry. She came to us a couple days ago, traded some materials Carlos needed to have him weld the sword back together...though she took it before it was really ready so it’s probably pretty weak. Patience isn’t exactly Uma’s strong point…” Mal gave a snort, watching as Evie double checked the items in the bag before pulling it over her shoulder, gesturing for them to follow her down the ladder. 

“It never has been.” Evie rolled her eyes as all three made it down the ladder, settling her hands on her hips as she cast her gaze in the direction of the house. Mal noted the stiffness of her shoulders, moving to stand next to her and give her a little hip bump as she raised a brow. “What’s up?” Evie shook her head, tightening the strap on the bag as the back door of Hell Hall swung open violently, Carlos spilling out of the building with his arms over his head as several dishes flew at him. Mal and Jay jumped as Cruella’s loud, shrill voice pierced the air, the woman following her son out of the house shaking a book above her head. 

“Don’t you run from me, you mangy runt! I allow you to live in my home, eat my food, and this is how you repay me? The entire parlour reeks of vomit now! Ingrate! Idiot!” Carlos ducked as she heaved the book at him, and Jay made a move towards the two before Evie’s fingers wrapped around his wrist, tightening to keep him from moving forward as she shook her head silently. 

“Mom, please! I already cleaned it, the windows are open, you just have to wait for it to air out! I put some new cigarettes in your room, why don’t you go relax while I go see if Jafar has any new furs in?” Carlos’ words were barely a plea as he continued backing away, his tone nearly monotone as he backed towards the wrought iron fence behind him, and Cruella lowered her arm as she paused in consideration. 

“That’s acceptable, my spotty little mutt. Mummy is exhausted now.” Carlos heaved a sigh of relief at her dismissal, watching as Cruella spun on her heel to return inside of the house, the door slamming shut behind her as he slumped against the fence. 

“Evil’s sake, Carlos, what did you do now?” Evie huffed, adjusting her bag before moving to join Carlos where he stood. The younger teen looked up as she reached him, wrinkling his nose as he rubbed at a spot on his cheek, his eyes darting from her to the two teens behind her. 

“Mom didn’t like that I puked in the parlour. It’s okay E, she didn’t get too hard. Just a little dizzy from the concussion I think.” He flashed her a half smile as he ran his hands through his hair, gently pressing on the still swollen wound on his head with a soft hiss. “Did you guys get everything? I don't want to have to come back here until after moms gone to sleep if I can help it.” Evie held up the bag, and Carlos nodded as he gestured Jay towards him. “Good. C’mere muscles, you get to be my legs until the world stops spinning.” Jay snorted, crouching slightly to allow Carlos to pull himself up onto his back. 

“Yeah alright. So where are we going with this shit? Mal’s?” Making sure his hold on the younger boy was firm, Jay nodded in the direction of the road, gesturing for the girls to lead the way. 

“Uh, yeah, no. Mom’s home, and she’s pmsing like a bitch so probably best to avoid Bargain Castle for a few days. Why don’t we take it to the Junk Shop? Your dad’s probably wondering where you are anyways, and you can steal some stuff along the way.” Mal shoved open the gate, gesturing for Evie to proceed through it before following the blue haired girl out onto the road. 

“I already got something that I think’ll please dad, but we can go to my place sure. We can go up to the roof to put these bad boys together.” The arms around Jay’s neck tightened slightly as he adjusted his hold on Carlos’ legs, falling quiet as he thought about the black and silver lighter tucked in his vest pocket. The smallest part of him wondered if he shouldn’t have taken it, but it had been just laying on the counter and he had barely thought about it when he’d grabbed it between entering the kitchen of Hell Hall and getting Carlos the bucket. 

“Alright. And how are we planning on getting Uma and her crew away from the Revenge long enough to make this plan work, anyways? They practically live there.” Mal’s nose wrinkled at her words, and Evie snickered as she shook her head some. 

“Actually, most of the crew have the evening shift at Ursula’s this evening, which is why Carlos has to go do repairs during the day. The only ones you really have to worry about being there are Gil and Bonnie, and I happen to know for a fact that Bonnie’s going to be with Ginny Gothel tonight. So really, the only person you have to worry about is Gil.” The group walked towards the marketplace, Mal sneering at people as they passed them. 

“Then we can hit it pretty much any time then, if we take out Gil we take out Uma’s main muscle, bonus.” Carlos glared at Mal at her words, pulling himself higher on Jay’s back as he spoke up. 

“Gil is not to be hurt, Mal. I owe him for looking out for me when mom drags me to Gaston’s get togethers.” His voice was firm, and Mal shot him a look before holding her hands up, scoffing. 

“Alright, shit. The imbecile gets to live, by your decree, your majesty.” Carlos made a face, and she smirked as she turned her attention back to Evie. “So how are we going to get LeGume off the boat then?” Jay cleared his throat, speeding up to pass the girls before turning to walk backwards as he grinned at them. 

“Uh, the Revenge is a ship, Mal, get it right.” Carlos snickered, and Jay’s grin widened. “I can probably get Gil off the boat, he’s not that smart. I’ll just tell him I’ll make him a trade or something, I’m sure he’s got something I’d want.” Mal rolled her eyes, and Carlos gave a soft hum as he dropped his chin atop of Jay’s head. 

“I can probably get him to go meet up with Evie, since you sort of have to be around to throw bottles, Jay. Gil owes me a few favors, I could just say I’m worried about her having to meet up with Mal alone, that way Mal has an alibi for when Uma comes for her if she wants one.” Mal considered the idea as they made their way into the market, the few early morning shoppers scattered about the different stalls as though the trash they’d find would vary from any other time. The Junk Shop, usually one of the first stores to open in the market, was already bustling with customers; as Jafar spotted the group, his brows furrowed as he moved through the small crowd, Jay let Carlos drop to his feet. 

“Jadiir, where have you been? The tables need to be stocked, there are customers to swindle, and you nowhere to be found! The insolence!” The portly man began to rant under his breath in Arabic as he raised a hand as though to backhand the teen, and Jay winced as he shifted slightly on his heels, ready to move out of the way should his father decide to swing.

“Sorry dad. We were doing stuff. I’ve got some stock though, don’t worry- it’s good stuff too, hold on.” Jafar’s hand moved to slap Jay, though it’s movement was impeded by a calloused hand grasping the ex-vizers wrist, both Jay and Jafar staring at the smaller teen in surprise as Carlos flashed a dangerous look at Jafar as he intercepted the man’s hand before smiling coyly at the older villain. 

“Sorry, Jafar. He was helping me with something.” Carlos’ voice was smooth and even, and Jafar’s hand lowered as he gave the teen a contemplative look. “ Why don’t I fix your water heater later free of charge, and you lend me Jay’s impressive muscles for today?” Jafar considered the offer a moment before giving a careless shrug, gesturing towards the back room. 

“Go ahead. A free repair from the infamous boy genius is worth a day I suppose.” Carlos nodded, and Jay hesitated just long enough to shove a small sack into his father's hands before offering a half salute, dragging Carlos and Evie into the back room to escape his father's sights as Mal followed atg a more sedated pace. 

“Dude! Colour me impressed, shit. You’re like magic or something.” Carlos shrugged as he watched Mal carelessly sink onto the ratty old arm chair in the corner of what could barely be called a living room; the entire backroom of Jafar’s Junk Shop could fit into the main parlour of Hell Hall, containing a galley kitchen, a single bed and the armchair in front of a beat up television set.

“You just have to know what people find worth in. Your dad was complaining the other day to Evie’s mom about your water heater, so logic dictates that a trade could be made. Nothing overly impressive.” Jay stared at Carlos almost adoringly for a moment before Evie cleared her throat, placing the bag of ingredients onto the lopsided coffee table.

“Are we here to compliment each other or are we here to make fire bombs?” Her words held a teasing edge, and Carlos wrinkled his nose as he reached for the bag, picking it up to look into it. 

“Fire bombs. Jay, is there a more ventilated place we can make these? Maybe outside?” Jay gave a nod, gesturing for the group to follow him as he pried open a window leading to a fire escape. 

“Because this doesn’t look rickety at all.” Evie mumbled, ducking through the window as Jay lead them onto the metal landing. Mal snickered, placing her hands on the other girl’s hips as she moved to stand behind her, resting her chin on her shoulder as Jay carefully helped Carlos up the ladder leading to the roof. 

“Don’t worry, Princess, I’ll catch you if you fall.” Evie snorted, leaning into the touch for a moment before stepping away from Mal to follow the boys, tossing a sly smile over her shoulder at Mal as she started up the ladder. 

“You just want an excuse to stare at my ass while I climb, Mal.” Mal grinned, placing her hand on one of the rungs as she winked at Evie playfully. 

“What can I say, guilty as charged.” Evie rolled her eyes, and the four made their way up to the roof. Carlos made his way to the small stack of wooden crates to pull one from the pile, dragging it towards the middle of the roof before carefully taking the ingredients from the bag to set up before him. Evie moved to help, the two measuring and pouring ingredients with practiced ease as Mal and Jay watched, amazed at the easy way the two crafted the bombs. 

“You guys are really good at that.” Jay noted, settled on a crate of his own as Mal sat on the edge of the makeshift chimney stack that lead into Jay’s living room. Carlos shrugged, and Evie flashed a grin at him. 

“It’s just chemistry, Jay. Anyone can do it if they put their mind to it.” She capped the last bottle, wrapping a scrap of fabric around the neck into a bow before lining it with the other five bottles. “There. Now remember, you have to let that fabric soak no more than thirty second before lighting, or it’ll catch too fast and explode before it hits the boat. C, time check?” Carlos rolled up his sleeve to look at the cracked watch on his wrist with a frown before reaching to rub his ear gingerly. 

“Almost noon. I should go soon if I don’t want Uma to get suspicious. Be seen coming in from the far side of the Isle so I don’t raise suspicions. I’ll meet you guys at the Slop Shop in about three hours? That should give me enough time.” Evie nodded, reaching to push Carlos’ hair back from the stitches on his head to inspect them some before giving a sigh. 

“Don’t let Harry harass you too much this time. Remember, Uma’s not going to start shit if you punch him out. She needs you to fix the rudder.” Carlos nodded, letting his gaze drift from Evie to Mal before settling on Jay for a moment, the long haired teen flushing at the sudden scrutiny. 

“I’m expecting coffee waiting for me when I get to the Slop Shop.” He stated, firmly, and Jay nodded as Carlos moved to pat his cheek with a smirk. “I’ll even consider a reward if there is.” Jay blushed as Carlos turned to go down the fire escape, and behind him Mal burst into laughter, a small but strong hand clamping down on Jay’s shoulder as he stared at where Carlos had disappeared down the ladder. 

“Man, you are already bitch whipped.” Jay wrinkled his nose, giving Mal a shove as he turned back to start gathering the bottles, trying to ignore the teasing comments from the girls behind him as he mentally counted the coins in his pocket. 

If Carlos wanted to reward him for getting him some coffee? He wasn’t going to complain.


	11. Chapter 11

Harry was staring at him. 

Or, rather, Harry was following him around the deck of the Revenge as he filled in sections of the old wooden deck with waterproofing varnish, hovering over him as he worked while the other pirates went about their business. He hadn’t noticed at first, his mind too occupied with running through where he could get away with placing extra pitch without running the risk of getting caught, and it hadn’t been until he’d started waterproofing near the stairway to the upper deck that he’d realized he’d gained a shadow. 

“Can I help you with something, Hook?” His tone was bored as he lugged the pail of varnish closer to him, dipping the brush he was holding into the pail, carefully avoiding the second brush, before smoothly painting along one of the panels of wood nearest the base of the steps. Harry’s eyes followed his hands movements as the older teen twirled his hook in his hand, and Carlos couldn’t help the uneasy feeling that settled in his stomach as he reached for the pail only to be blocked by said hook. 

“Hear you’ve been spending an awful lot of time with Mal and Jay, Pup.” Carlos frowned as he carefully pushed the hook away, dipping his brush into the pail once more as he blew at the strands of hair falling into his face. 

“I told you to stop calling me that. We have a project for school together. Why does it matter who I spend my time with, anyways? I’m not part of Uma’s crew, Hook. I’m just the repair guy.” Harry’s expression remained amused as he let Carlos push his hand away, watching as the younger teen brushed the varnish in slow even strokes over the wood. 

“Matters not to me, but Uma doesn’t like it when her handy man’s seen with the likes of the Dragon.” Carlos rolled his eyes, rubbing the back of his hand across his forehead before glancing up at Harry with a blank look as he took in his words. 

“I’m not Uma’s anything. She pays me to do repairs, she doesn’t own me. Neither does Mal. You all just hire me to do jobs.” Harry hummed, reaching out to draw the tip of his hook along the collar of Carlos’ shirt thoughtfully as the smaller boy edged slightly back, eyes on Harry as the pirate’s lips quirked slightly. 

“No, I don’t suppose you belong to either of them, do you? That would be yer mum’s pleasure I imagine.” He hooked Carlos’ shirt collar and tugged hard, the fabric digging into Carlos’ neck as he was pulled forward onto his hands and knees at the sudden movement, his hands landing in the sticky varnish he’d just painted. “Uma might not care to listen to the gossip, but Gilly boy can’t help but talk about the things he hears while out and about. Rumor has it that you’ve managed to get discounts and the best deals with Jafar and Gaston twice this week, not to mention Mim, Facilier and the baker in the market. What’s your secret then, lad?” Carlos curled his fingers as he pushed himself up onto his knees, his gaze travelling up Harry’s body to watch the pirate lean towards him with a sneer. 

“Haven't you heard? I made a machine and have all of the adults on the Isle under mind control.” A look of surprise crossed Harry’s face, and Carlos smirked as he reached to wipe his hands off on the rag he’d been using to clean his hands while he worked. “Or was it that I’ve been sleeping with them? I hear I’m pretty good with my mouth apparently, though it’s kinda hard keeping the rumors straight. I’ve also heard that I have them hypnotized. I think Freddie came up with that one, not sure. I’m pretty fond of the idea that I somehow have magic powers and have magik’d them under my control. That implies both that I have some sort of magic powers and was able to break the barrier, which is pretty cool.” Harry’s hand dropped some as Carlos wrinkled his nose, reaching for the brush again to continue his work. “I just happen to have talents that people need. No one else in this good-forsaken hell hole knows how to build things or fix things. Look at us right now. No one from your crew was smart enough to figure out how make basic waterproof varnish, so here I am. Supply and demand.” Harry’s expression soured, and Carlos shifted back, brush tightly gripped in his hand as though a weapon as Harry sneered at him. . 

“Everyone’s bigger than you. Stronger. How aren’t you being strong armed into doing things then?” It took a moment for Carlos to realize Harry was legitimately interested in knowing the answers, enough so to ignore the slight against the crew, and he returned to his work as he frowned, eyes boring into the floor as he spoke softly in response to the question. 

“Sometimes I do. But it’s never been by the likes of you, Harry, and it never will. ” Dropping the brush into the pail, Carlos pushed himself off the floor to stand before Harry with his arms crossed over his chest. “There are scarier things on the Isle than the second hand man of a glorified waitress with a ship, Hook. Now can I please finish what I came here to do?” He gestured to the last spot he had to repair, a decent span of deck near one of the defunct cannons, before fixing Harry with an indiscernible look, and the pirate studied him a long moment before nodding for him to go about his work. Picking up the pail, Carlos moved to the spot he had indicated, noting how Harry followed him as he settled onto the floor once more to complete his task. He was blessed with several minutes of silence before Harry began speaking again, drawing his attention to where the pirate had taken to leaning against the rail watching him. 

“Like what?” Carlos frowned at the question, glancing up from where he had been painting to look at Harry as the older boy studiously gazed out towards the distinct line of the barrier beyond the ship. The question confused Carlos for a moment before he recalled their previous conversation, and he set his brush down with a huff as he settled back on his knees to watch Harry for a moment as he contemplated his answer. 

“Like...what?” Harry nodded, his eyes boring into Carlos as he waited for more words to spill from the younger teen. “Are you asking what’s scarier than you? Because you might be a little unhinged, Harry, but you’re not the scariest thing on the Isle.” He scratched his nose before shrugging, returning his attention to the deck as he went back to work. “You aren’t even close.” Harry made an affronted noise, and Carlos fell into silence as the pirate reached out to press the sharp tip of his hook to Carlos’ throat. 

“Scariest thing on this ship though, and don’t you be forgetting it Pup.” Carlos snorted, unable to help himself at Harry’s cockiness, and Harry glared at him as he pressed his hook harder to the teen’s throat. 

“And here I thought that was the Captain. My bad.” Harry’s eyes narrowed and Carlos leant into the hook, starring Harry down as the tip punctured the soft skin of his neck, blood welling at the wound as he spoke quiet enough to cause Harry to lean towards him. “What are you going to do, Harry? Slit my throat right here on deck? Make a mess of all this hard work? Do it.” Harry hesitated, and Carlos’ expression darkened slightly as he began to chant ‘do it’ under his breath, eyes set on Harry’s as the older teen began to look uncomfortable. He winced as the hook was dragged over the sensitive skin of his scar, the familiar warm and wet sensation of blood trickling down the column of his throat as Harry shoved him to the ground with a sneer. 

“You’re bloody crazy, deVil. Must take after your mother, hmm?” The comment felt like a punch to the gut- he hated his mother, hated everything she was and to be compared to her was a heavy hit. Curling his fists against the wood planks of the deck, he kept his gaze on the floor before him as somewhere up deck Uma gave a shout of Harry’s name. The pirate took a moment to spit on the floor in front of Carlos before spinning on his heel, taking off down the deck towards his captain as Carlos picked up his brush again, dipping it slowly into the pail as he watched the pirates move about the ship. It was amazing how in sync the crew was; it reminded him of how easily he and Evie worked together.

“You’re bleeding.” Carlos jumped slightly, startled by the concerned voice that interrupted his thoughts, and he glanced upwards to stare at the worried face of Gil as the blond hovered over him. 

“That tends to happen when someone drags a sharp metal hook across your skin, Gil.” Carlos’ entire body sagged as he snapped at Gil, wincing slightly as a hurt look passed over Gil’s face, and his expression softened some. “Harry’s just...being Harry. A little blood won’t kill me.” He nearly laughed at the irony of the sentence; it wouldn’t have mattered if Harry had slit his throat, the ship wasn’t far enough off land to prevent the living curse from saving him from perishing. 

“Uma told him to leave you alone while you were working after what happened last time, but you know Harry…I don’t think he knows the meaning of leaving things alone.” Gil’s eyes darted from Carlos towards where Uma stood ranting at Harry, the other pirate seemingly abashed as the sea witch verbally ran him down. “But everyone’s saying you joined Mal’s gang and it’s making Uma sort of bitchy? Cause if you’re in her gang then you won’t do stuff for our crew anymore?” Gil looked slightly confused, as though he didn’t quite understand why Carlos being in one gang would prevent him from helping another, and Carlos felt a small wave of fondness for the blond. 

“Uma thinks that if Mal’s in charge of me, I won’t take jobs for her. What no one seems to realize is I just want to make money. Gotta eat somehow, right?” He flashed a small smile at Gil as the other nodded emphatically, and turned his attention to the floor to finish up his work. Gil hesitated a moment before dropping to his own knees next to Carlos, reaching to take the second brush to help Carlos paint. 

“So you aren’t joining their crew?” Carlos frowned, his lips pressing into a tight line as he considered Gil’s question carefully. Technically, he was joining Mal’s crew- at least until the task of taking care of his mother and Jasper was handled.

“I’m weighing my options. Mal’s got something I need right now, so I’m playing friendly with her and Jay. Plus Evie wants to see if there’s something she can get from Mal too, so…” He shrugged, leaning back slightly to survey his work. “She’s going to meet Mal later…actually, Gil, can I ask a favor?” Placing the paint brush back into the pail, he turned to the older teen to watch him as he followed suit, curiously watching Carlos. 

“Yeah, of course dude. You helped me fix a bunch of stuff, you can totally ask me a favor. I owe you a lot.” Carlos couldn’t help the half smile at the blond’s eagerness to help; part of the reason he so often helped Gil with things had to do with the teen’s incredible muscle mass (he was a handy ally when it came to the barge, and for some reason he was quick to protect Carlos whenever fights broke out on the Revenge while the younger teen was aboard doing a job), but he also couldn’t help but actually like the older teen some. Gil wasn’t intelligent, but he was smart in his own way (Carlos suspected that Gil simply thought differently than everyone else, and had several ratty psychology notebooks tucked away with notes about the youngest LeGume’s psyche scribbled in his own rushed handwriting) and was quick to want to see the best in things, which was rare on the Isle. Carlos had originally written the teen off as simple, but over the years he had grown accustom to Gil’s easy grins and off-beat humor, even if he didn’t always agree with the older teen’s decisions. 

“Well, Evie’s going to be meeting up with Mal around seven, but Mom and Jasper are going to be home…” He trailed off, giving Gil a hopeful look as he offered him the rag to wipe his hands clean with. Gil frowned, taking a moment to catch on to what Carlos was getting to before nodding, a wide smile crossing his lips. 

“Oh! Yeah, I can go with her if you want!” Carlos gave a relieved sigh, pleased that his easy plan to get Gil away from the ship worked, before reaching to gather up the pail. 

“Thanks, Gil. I really appreciate that, you know how I worry about E unless I’m with her. She’s too pretty, and Mal’s not exactly known for being, y’know…honorable.” He mentally apologized to Mal, who had so far been nothing but helpful to him and good to Evie as far as he could tell, before moving to stand, taking the varnish pail with him to place on the rail as he stretched some, his neck twinging in pain as the movement pulled at his cut. Gil made a noise beside him, and he startled slightly as he suddenly found a bandana tied around his throat carefully, Gil’s clumsy hands oddly gentle. 

“I’m not even on guard duty tonight, so it’s no problem.” Carlos frowned slightly, thinking back on his knowledge of the pirates guard cycle for the ship they cherished so much. 

“You aren’t? I thought Saturday’s were your day’s for night duty?” Gil shrugged, watching as Carlos moved the varnish pail to a pile of crates to seal with a makeshift lid before placing it out of the way. 

“Usually. Ursula’s having some big party thing though so Uma’s sorta stuck doing that, and she needs everyone to help or something but she says she doesn’t want me hanging out on the ship by myself ‘cause I’ll set it on fire or something. I think they’re just gunna send Jonas out every hour to check on things?” Carlos hummed, and Gil shrugged. 

“Ah. Well, then I appreciate you going with Evie to meet Mal. I should probably head out now though- make sure that Uma knows that she needs to keep these spots clear until they dry or else they aren’t going to be water proof at all. And will you do me one more small favor?” Gil tilted his head, and Carlos flashed a wide grin as he pat the taller teen’s arm. “Wanna use those muscles and move that big barrel of pitch over to these crates? It shouldn’t be left in the sun.” Gil nodded, and Carlos gave him another pat on his arm before turning to leave, calling over his shoulder as he moved towards the gang plank. 

“Make sure you meet up with Evie. Outside Jafar’s, seven pm sharp.”

-=-=-

“What the hell happened to your neck?” Mal’s voice startled Jay out of the staring contest he had been having with his bowl of Curdled Cream Chowder, causing him to look up in an attempt to see who his companion was addressing. It took him a moment to spot Carlos slipping through the crowd around the door to the Slop Shop towards them, his eyes narrowing in on the line of dried blood visible across the room on the younger teen’s throat. Evie’s noise of displeasure alerted him that she too had seen it, and the blue haired girl instantly pulled Carlos to her side as he reached the table to run her fingers just under the cut, pressing lightly to the already bruising skin. 

“You’ve been gone three hours, C. What did you do to piss off Harry?” Carlos’ nose wrinkled as he gently pushed Evie’s hand away, taking the seat Jay pulled from another table for him before reaching for the full mug of coffee awaiting him. 

“He didn’t like that I wasn’t scared of him. It’s fine E, it’s not even that deep. I laid out a bunch more pitch, and Gil’s going to meet up with you to ‘meet Mal’-“ He made air quotes at that and Mal gave a snort, “-at seven. The entire crew’s going to be at Ursula’s for some big party or something tonight so it’s going to be pretty easy to hit the Revenge, I think…” He trailed off some to take a sip of his coffee, giving a small little moan of contentment at the hot sludge as it filled his stomach with warmth. Jay shifted to lean on his elbow before pushing his bowl of chowder towards the younger boy, who gave him an appreciative look as he took it, less wary of accepting food from the teen than he would have been a few days previously. 

“And we’re sure that the fire bombs are going to work?” Mal asked, brow raised as she stirred her own bowl of chowder carelessly, her gaze set on Carlos. Carlos shrugged, spooning a large mouthful of soup into his mouth as Evie rolled her eyes, pushing her empty mug away from her. 

“They’re work. Don’t worry about that, we’ve made them a bunch of times before.” Mal’s expression turned curious as she turned her attention towards Evie, her mind picking out an incident from nearly three months previous. 

“Wait. Wait a second. Did…were you guys the ones who set the East End Brothel on fire?” Evie and Carlos exchanged a look before Evie gave a nod, and Mal let out a low appreciative whistle. “Colour me impressed. What’d Mistress M ever do to you guys?” Evie’s expression darkened as she folder her hands delicately on the table before her, and Mal sank back slightly at the icy look the girl fixed her. 

“She bought little kids from their parents to make them work in the brothel.” Mal’s face paled some, and Carlos cleared his throat as he set his spoon into his bowl, gaining her attention. 

“We tolerate a lot of things here, because the people on this Isle aren’t good. But you don’t mess with little kids. Not while E and I are around to stop it.” He spat the words, and Jay felt a swell of almost pride at the younger boy’s ferocity. “So we put a stop to her business.” 

“Shit, that’s hardcore. Alright, so the bombs work. So what’s the plan going to be here? Set the boat on fire and then let Uma know it was us? Or are we going to play dumb?” Jay’s question caused the other three to pause a moment, thinking it over before Evie cleared her throat to draw their attention. 

“If Mal’s with Gil and I, she’ll have an alibi for when the ship’s set on fire, but Jay won’t. So unless we have some sort of alibi for Jay, Uma’s going to suspect that Mal just sent Jay to do it. So if we want to play dumb on this, we’re going to have to figure something out for that. Suggestions?” Mal considered it a moment before tapping her finger on the table top, pointing at Carlos as the younger teen looked up from his bowl. 

“What’s your throwing arm like?” Carlos gave a shrug, rolling his shoulder slightly as he settled back in his seat.

“Not as strong as Jay’s probably is, but I can throw a rock from my window to E’s place if it’s not too windy. Why?” Mal hummed, giving Jay a calculating look before nodding to herself. 

“If you think you can set it on fire by yourself, Jay could go to Ursula’s to party crash. Alibi solid, we’re both seen other places and Evie’s with me so no one can suspect her…but then what about you?” She frowned, purple nails tapping the table top in irritation at the sudden flaw in her plan. 

“I’ve already got the covered. I told Gil mom and Jasper were home tonight…he’ll know that there’s no way I’m not at home.” Mal shot him a questioning look, and he shrugged. “Gil’s been around when Jasper’s had to punish me. Gaston spends a lot of time at my place when there’s no races or fights happening.” Mal nodded, and Carlos slumped in his seat some, suddenly tired. “So is that what we want to do? I can do the ship, but is it going to be okay for Jay to go to Ursula’s alone?” Jay gave a snort, shifting in his seat to nudge Carlos lightly with his shoulder as he beamed at him. 

“I’ve never been in a fight I didn’t win, dude. And there’s a strict no fighting policy at Ursula’s- the old sea hag doesn’t want to have to repair any of her shit so she kicks anyone out who starts acting like a complete asshole.” Carlos nodded in understanding, and Jay scooted his chair closer to drape an arm over the back of the younger teen’s chair, leaning to inspect the damage to the smaller boy’s neck. “Dude that looks sore. Are you sure you’re alright?” Carlos rolled his eyes, giving Jay a half-hearted shove as Evie’s expression softened at their interaction. 

“I’m fine, ugh. You’re as bad as Evie, Jay, stop.” Jay wrinkled his nose and gave Carlos a pinch, which turned into an impromptu slap fight between the two and Evie and Mal turned their attention to each other. 

“Gil’s not that bright, so we’ll just pretend that I’m trading something with you. It’s believable enough since Carlos and I trade all over the Isle, so Gil shouldn’t suspect anything. He’s surprisingly perceptive for someone so…” Mal snorted and cut her off, smirking as she inputting ‘Dumb?’ into the sentence, and Evie shot her a look. “Unintelligent. Gil’s been pretty good to Carlos and I, you know. If we could get him away from the pirates he’d be a really great ally.” Mal rolled her eyes, and Evie reached to swat her hand. “I’m serious!” Mal held up her hands in surrender as across the table Carlos’ chair fell over, the younger teen having tackled Jay to the floor as their wrestling escalated some. Evie frowned, slapping her hand down on the table to gain the boy’s attention, the two pausing to look up at her. “Stop it. Carlos you still have a concussion, you’re going to get hurt worse if you don’t stop that.” Carlos rolled his eyes but pushed himself up from where he had pinned Jay to the floor, dusting off his shorts before righting his chair and settling down on it once more. 

“Killjoy.” Jay muttered, getting up and sitting down as well as Evie gave a huff. “Alright Princess, calm down. We’re done. So what should we do until seven?” His fingers danced over the rusted silverware, and Mal glanced at the clock on the far wall before heaving a sigh. 

“I should check in with mom, she probably needs me to do something. Jay, you should do a sticky fingers run or Jafar’s going to have a fit tonight.” Jay nodded, and Evie gestured between herself and Carlos as Mal trailed off. 

“C and I have a job at Gothel’s tower so maybe Mal and I should meet up at seven…” she glanced at Carlos who inputted ‘in front of the junk shop’, and nodded, “And Jay, you and Carlos should meet up right before you go to Ursula’s just to check in.” Jay nodded, and Mal clapped her hands as she moved to stand from the table, a pleased look on her face. 

“Perfect! We’ll all meet up at our designated times. I’m out of here.” Jay pushed himself up, stretching his arms over his head as his thoughts drifted momentarily to the lighter he’d tucked into the small bag he’d handed Jafar earlier, a small ball of guilt still heavy in his stomach as he glanced at Carlos as the smaller teen stood as well. 

“In front of the Souvlaki shop, Carlos?” Carlos nodded, and Jay returned the gesture before turning to leave the table, Mal following behind him. The two pushed open the door as one, entering the busy street to begin their trek into the center of the market together, and after a moment of silence Mal cleared her throat, causing Jay to glance at her. 

“What’d you take from his house, Jay?” Jay stiffened slightly, glancing Mal’s way and frowning at the unreadable expression on her face. 

“What makes you think I took anything?” Mal shot him an unimpressed look, and he sighed as he ran a hand through his hair, gaze darting away from her. “A lighter. I mean it’s not like it was anything big, right? He should be fine.” Mal made a noise that he couldn’t interpret, and he cast another look her way. “What? What was that noise about?” Mal gave a casual shrug, tucking her hands into her pockets as she side stepped a puddle of what looked to be blood, mud and potentially piss. 

“Nothing. I just think that someone as meticulous as Carlos is gunna notice if anything’s gone missing in his house, especially since his bat shit crazy mom is obsessed with her possessions. I don’t know about you-“ she shot him another look, this one a little more judgmental, “-but if she bashed his head against a counter hard enough to give him a bad concussion for not having all his chores done, I’d hate to see what she’s going to do to him if she realizes she’s missing her lighter. We all know how much the bitch smokes.” Jay’s face paled at the words, his mind racing to what Carlos had said about Jasper and the basement, at how the nearly unflappable teen had practically shaken apart at the seams when Jasper had come looking for him. He hadn’t considered the potential consequences for the younger teen when he’d grabbed the lighter- for all he knew, he’d signed Carlos’ doom with the act.

“Shit. Fuck, Mal, I didn’t even think about it I just grabbed it on instinct. What should I do?” Mal gave a half shrug as they reached the Junk Shop, her eyes darting behind Jay into the open door for a moment before she leant towards him, brows raised. 

“Try to fix it if you want to stay on both Carlos and Evie’s good sides, I’m thinking. You’d better hope your dad hasn’t sold it yet, Jay.” Jay deflated slightly, giving a nod as Mal elbowed him lightly in the side before taking off. Turning to enter the store, he sighed as he spotted his father at the cash, the older man gesturing him towards him as he moved around the small counter. 

“Jadiir, you did very well with that last little haul you brought in. Very well indeed- now if you can continue to bring in that level of goods, we’ll be fine!” Jay gave his father a half-hearted smile as the man clapped a hand on his shoulder, glancing towards where the small sack sat on one of the tables. 

“Did you, uh, sell anything from the stuff I brought in?” He asked, hopeful that perhaps no one had purchased the lighter in the few hours he’d been away from the store. Jafar let out a laugh as he reached for the bag, lifting it easily and placing it in Jay’s hands. 

“The entire bag! It was no lamp, my boy, but you did fine today. The lighter especially brought in a good price- Cruella was livid to realize we had it, and paid handsomely for it indeed!” The stone of guilt in Jay’s stomach unfurled to spread like molten lead through him at the words, and he placed the bag back in his father’s hands as his thoughts turned to just what a livid Cruella might do to her son. 

“That’s, uh. Great dad. I’m gunna go see what else I can grab, I’ll be back later tonight.” Slipping out of his father’s grip, Jay ducked out of the store again, his stomach twisted as he made his way out into the busy market. There was no way Carlos wouldn’t know that he was the one who had taken the lighter, no possible way that the younger teen would ever forgive him for taking it knowing that Jay knew what his mother did to him as a form of punishment. Rubbing his hands over his face, he let out a low groan as he leant against the side of one of the makeshift buildings. He had no idea what to do; he couldn’t return the lighter to Hell Hall if Cruella already bought it back, and he couldn’t go to Cruella to take blame- he’d seen the woman blame Carlos for someone else tripping and spilling their drink onto her when the teen hadn’t been anywhere near her, so he had no doubt that she would blame Carlos regardless of if Jay went to her or not. He couldn’t hide Carlos from the woman either; he’d suggested it before and both Evie and Carlos had been adamant that Cruella would find him no matter where he hid. He didn’t know what to do about the situation, and he hated the sensation of worry for someone who wasn’t himself. 

He had to figure something out. He had to.


	12. Chapter 12

Nighttime was never truly dark on the Isle. 

Alleyways lead to garbage bin bonfires lit to keep those without a semblance of a home warm, the streets lit by the unnatural glow of the magic barrier that kept them all trapped within it. The leaning homes that scattered down the makeshift roads tended to have flickering lights on at all hours of the night, shadows in the windows long and lean and eerie in a way that lent to the cries and hollers that drifted from the buildings. He was lucky in that Hell Hall was far enough away from the rest of the population of the Isle that the light pollution was kept to a minimum; as much as his mother often complained about being away from the hustle and bustle of the Parisian fashion scene, the truth of the matter was that Cruella had grown up in the English countryside in a secluded manor, and she was use to the quiet darkness. The dampened light of the barrier helped for sneaking out when he had to, and while seven was closer to dusk on the Isle, it was dark enough that Carlos had no problems slipping out the back door of his home to grab his bag of fire bombs, side stepping a bear trap with practiced ease as he escaped out the gate. His mother hadn’t been home when he’d stopped in to prepare her supper, and he’d made it quickly and placed it on the table with a note hoping that she’d have eaten and gone to bed by the time he returned to the manor after his work was done at the docks. It didn’t take him long to reach the the shop he was to meet Jay in front of, pulling himself to sit on the rail at the entrance to the building as he sat waiting anxiously for the older teen to arrive. 

He was beginning to have minor regrets with his life choices; setting the Revenge on fire would start a war, one that he would be caught in the middle of as one of the main instigators. The pirates gave him good business- the Revenge was nowhere near as seaworthy as Uma would like it to be, and while Hook had already claimed that the ship was unsalvageable after Gil and Jonas half sank it halfway to the barrier, Uma and Harry were adamant that the ship could be saved. Carlos’ vast knowledge of almost everything (Evie teased him that human emotion was too far outside the spectrum of what he understood for him to be considered knowledgeable about it, but he argued that he wasn’t emotionless, just careful) had made him their main restoration expert since Hook and his crew refused to help, and a part of him was frustrated that all of his hard work on the ship thus far would be ruined. 

“Hey, Carlos.” He only jumped slightly at Jay’s voice, turning where he sat to watch the older teen appeared from one of the side roads leading from the market. Carlos couldn’t help but notice the slightly guilty look on the other teen’s face, and he frowned as Jay stopped just before the railing to place his hands on either side of Carlos’ legs. “You been waiting long?” Carlos shook his head, and Jay offered a smile as he nodded towards the bag slung over Carlos’ shoulder. “You ready to commit some crimes?” Carlos gave a snort as he slid from the rail, wrinkling his nose as he realized he had to look up at Jay while standing as close as they were. 

“I don’t know that they can be considered crimes when we have no criminal laws on the Isle, Jay. Do you have a plan for when you go into Ursula’s, or are you just going to go in and start a fight?” It wasn’t the best idea, but starting a fight sounded like Jay’s MO enough that Carlos wouldn’t be surprised if that was exactly what the older teen had planned to do. Jay smirked, smoothly stepping beside Carlos and slipping an arm around his shoulders as they started walking towards the docks as he responded to the question.

“I’m not a completely idiot, dude. I just want Uma to know I’m there, I don’t want to start a brawl without any backup at all.” He shot the younger teen an amused look, and Carlos rolled his eyes as the arm around him tightened slightly. “It should be enough to keep them from coming out to the ship and finding you though, at least. Uma’s going to think I’m up to something if I just go in and sit at a table, which should distract her some.” The two kept to the shadows as they walked, ducking around the few people still roaming the streets as they made their way over the rough transition from stone road to wooden boardwalk. 

“Well I don’t know Jay, you like to cause a scene sometimes, it’s not that much of a stretch to think you’d want to start a fight. I’m not too worried about Jonas spotting me if he’s who Uma is actually sending out- he’s not exactly the most observant person around. I’m more worried if Bonnie or Desiree are sent out, they’re both a lot more attentive.” Jay gave a nod, and Carlos slipped out of his grasp as they reached the main dock area of the wharf. 

“I’ll do my best to keep the two of them busy then. Are you sure you know what you’re doing with those fire bombs?” Carlos shot him a look, and Jay held up his hand in surrender. “Alright. Just…be careful okay? Don’t get caught and don’t, you know, get more hurt.” The sentiment was almost nice, and Carlos’ expression softened some as he considered how nice Jay had been to him the past few days. 

“You be careful too, Jay.” Jay gave him a wry grin and a playful salute before disappearing towards the chip shop, leaving Carlos to slink his way down the boardwalk towards where the Revenge sat dry docked. The wharf was fairly deserted, most of the pirates and dock goblins either having gone to whatever thing Ursula’s was hosting or to their own homes for the evening, and as Carlos slipped between two towers of stacked crates and netting he let out a sigh of relief as he spotted Gil disappearing down the alleyway that lead straight to the market from the docks. Setting his bag down on one of the crates, he began to pull out the bottles of flammable liquid, along with his slingshot. The sling shot had been a gift from his cousin, back before the Apples had gotten so big on the Isle that Diego had nearly disappeared from his life, and Carlos had been diligent about keeping it in perfect condition just in case. 

Taking the small strips of rag that Evie had tied to each bottle, he opened the lid carefully to each before placing the cloth half into it, letting it soak some as he then turned to search for the lighter he had swiped from one of the pirates earlier that week. He had considered taking his mother’s, but the idea of her finding out that the lighter was missing had nearly caused a panic attack and he’d scrapped the idea immediately. Once the bottles were set, he sat back to wait a few minutes for the fluid to soak the bottom half of the the cloth before picking up the first one, dark eyes roaming across the side of the ship before stopping just shy of the back bow of the ship where it faced the water away from the main dock. Putting the bottle in the slingshot, he took a moment to light the cloth before taking careful aim, firing the bottle with impressive accuracy and watching it sail over the side of the ship to land on deck. The barrel of pitch he had gotten Gil to move caught almost immediately, the roar of the sudden flames loud enough to startle Carlos slightly as he reached for the second bottle. Taking aim towards the rear of the ship, he lit and shot the next projectile silently. The bottle arched almost gracefully over the side of the ship, landing with another smash of broken glass before igniting the pitch he had placed there earlier in the day. The old wood caught surprisingly quick- he supposed the waterproofing varnish he’d used was aiding in the spread of the flames- and he pondered if he needed the third bottle at all, hesitating a moment before lighting it and aiming for the main mast before turning to tuck the empty bag into one of his pockets along with the slingshot and lighter. He ducked between two warehouses as shouts began to cry out from the opposite side of the wharf, someone having caught sight of the flaming ship, and took off silently inland to head back towards his home. They had made no plans on what to do after the deed was done, and he momentarily wondered if he should seek Jay out at Ursula’s before dismissing the idea. It’d be damning evidence that they could have worked together if he showed up just after the ship was set on fire, and he knew that he should try to get back to Hell Hall before his mother realized he was still out. 

He thought on Evie, hoping that things were going well with her, Mal and Gil. He couldn’t help but worry slightly, still not fully trusting Mal but knowing that Evie was more than capable of taking care of herself. There was no point in him showing up at their meeting- Gil thought he was stuck at his house, and even if Gil wasn’t always the most intelligent person, even he would realize something was up if Carlos made an appearance after asking him to keep an eye on Evie. He made his way up one of the alleys, sticking to the shadows in case any of the pirates decided to go on the hunt for whoever had lit up the night with their ship, and let his mind wander from the pirates to their plan about Cruella and Jasper. He almost had all the parts to make his barrier wave interrupter- the coil’s would probably show up on the Monday barge, which tended to come from the more industrious areas of Auradon, and they were the only remaining part of the machine that he had to obtain before he could complete it- and once that was completed they’d be able to put their plan into motion. Evie had been storing several months worth of food, clothing and other useful items in her bedroom, tucked into a chest that Grimhilde rarely went near, and they were more than prepared to break away from the mainland of the Isle to find a place of their own. Carlos had suggested they try to find a way to the Isle of the Doomed, but Evie had vetoed the idea by pointing out that there would most likely still be goblins roaming the Isle that hosted Maleficent’s decrypt fortress. The conversation had turned to the thick forest of Nowhere, and while Carlos had brought up concerns that Zeke Wolf and his cubs might roam the woods at night, Evie had been adamant that it was their best option short of trying to escape the barrier altogether. 

He let his mind wander from that as the lights of Hell Hall came into view, cursing under his breath as he realized his mother must have gotten home while he was out. Making his way into the backyard, he pulled his slingshot and lighter from his pocket to tuck into the underside of the broken wall that had once circled the patio stones leading to the door of the kitchen before carefully opening the door, slipping inside. The kitchen was dark, and he stepped carefully around the mess of broken plate and smeared food that greeted him on the floor, frowning as he moved to get the broom from the small servant’s cupboard that lead to the basement. He took a moment to carefully clean up the mess, trying to remain silent as he listened to the sounds of the house around him. Once the mess was cleaned, he crept through the kitchen door into the parlor, jumping as a lamp switched on and cast the room into shadows. His mother sat in her favorite chair, holding a glass of soured wine and her cigarette holder with a look of contempt.

“Uh...hi, mom.” Cruella watched Carlos in silence for a moment as the teen shifted from one foot to the other, nervously waiting for her to say something. She stared at him, unease creeping up his spine as the silence stretched on, and he fisted his hands at his side as he stood in silence. 

“Carlos.” Her voice was sharp, and Carlos wracked his brain for anything he might have done to upset her. He’d finished his chores, had made her dinner…”Can you imagine what I’ve gone through today?” Carlos blinked, taking half a step back as Cruella rose from her seat, a stormy look on her face. 

“What…” he trailed off as cold fingers grasped his chin, stumbling slightly as his mother pulled him forward with a sneer. 

“Did you think that I wouldn’t notice?” She hissed the words at him, nails digging into his cheeks as she narrowed her eyes at him. “Did you think I wouldn’t realize as soon as I sat down to eat what was missing?” He stilled, unsure as to what she was referring to, and she continued to rant, her voice growing in volume as she spoke. “What did you trade it for, then? What did Jafar have that was worth stealing from your mother, what could a worthless, idiotic runt like you need that I haven’t provided for you? You have a roof over your head! You have a style, I taught you a good work ethic didn’t I? What did you trade it for?!” He winced at the shrillness of her voice, still confused as to what he had apparently taken from her. 

“Mom I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Cruella’s fingers tightened as she pulled his chin upwards in one swift yank, causing Carlos to cry out at the tight pain the action brought. 

“Don’t lie to me boy! You’re the only one who touches it, you’re the only one who puts his filthy little paws on my belongings like he has any right to! What did you trade the lighter for?!” He hadn’t touched her lighter, hadn’t even seen it since he’d cleaned the kitchen and Cruella had given him his concussion, when…

When Jay and Mal had come into his home with Evie. 

“I didn’t trade it! I didn’t touch it, it wasn’t me mom I swear! Jay probably stole it, you know how quick he is, please mom I didn’t I promise I didn’t!” A ball of lead settled in his stomach, heavy and hot with the shame of having trusted Jay, even knowing what the older teen was like. In wanting to think that Jay might not steal from him. 

“What was that little thief doing in my house? Did you bring him in? You little whore, are you sleeping with the boy?” Carlos attempted to shake his head, and Cruella squeezed her fingers tighter before letting go, giving Carlos a small shove backwards. Strong arms caught him, and he barely had time to struggle as Cruella uttered the words ‘take him to the basement’ before he was being dragged through to the kitchen, twisting and yelling as he struggled to escape Jasper’s hold on him. 

“Now stop struggling, boy, you’re only going on a little trip is all. Nothing to fret about, just a trip.” The wide grin that crossed Jasper’s lips caused Carlos’s heart to leap to his throat as the door to the basement was pulled open, the older man grasping Carlos by the shoulders as he gave a dark chuckle, leaning to speak harshly against the teen’s ear. “You’re going to regret ever even speaking to that thief boy, runt. And then we’re going to make him regret even looking at you. You belong to the missus, and you’d do well to remember that.” Carlos shook his head, and Jasper gave a hard shove, sending him backwards down the long, steep stone stairs leading to the basement.

Jasper’s silhouette disappeared from the doorway, and as darkness crept over Carlos he couldn’t help but wonder if Jay had meant any of the things he’d said to him in the past two days.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for this chapter: forced water intoxication and everything that entails, amputation, Jasper annnnnnnd minor death.
> 
> And, as per usual, no editing. We die like men in this here town

The adult body could consume an average of 78 to 100 ounces of water a day before potential illness would occur.

He’d read in one of the textbooks he had tucked away that once the human body reached its limit for safe water consumption, water intoxication would occur due to an imbalance of water to sodium ratio in the blood. When sodium levels lowered too much, hyponatremia occurred, which had the possibility of leading to headaches, nausea, seizures or even death. 

“What a thirsty, boy! Why don’t you have another glass of water?” Cool glass pressed to his lips, slick with condensation as dirty fingers hooked between his lips to pry open his mouth, water flooding his throat without his consent as he gagged and coughed on it. He sputtered once the glass was empty, trying to shrink back in the chair he was tied to as the sound of water being poured washed over him once more, causing his stomach to turn. “Six pints is a good start, but I’m concerned yer not drinking enough, what do you think Horace?” He gagged at the thought of drinking more, wishing he could see what Jasper was doing without the blindfold tied tightly around his face, nearly hindering his ability to breathe through his nose. His bladder was already uncomfortably full, the ropes wrapped tight around his stomach not helping any as he tried to shift to relieve some of the pressure. 

“I can’t drink anymore.” It was more of a plead than he’d hoped it would come out as, and he stilled as Jasper laughed loudly beside his ear, the rough stubble of his cheek brushing against Carlos’ face as the teen let out a small whine.

“Oh but I think you can, little master. You’re gunna drink until you piss yourself, and then you’re gunna drink some more.” A large hand pressed slowly against his stomach, and Carlos couldn’t help the gasp he gave as he squeezed his thighs together, the ache in his stomach becoming too much to handle the harder Jasper pressed. 

“Please don’t do this.” His voice was small as he tried to press further back against the chair, Jasper’s hand pressing lower as the lackey chuckled darkly. 

“Your please’s don’t mean nothin’ here, boyo. Missus told us to punish you, and punish you we shall. Didn’t think we’d have to worry about you bringing other young things into the manor for a few more years yet...though didn’t think you would ever be interested in bumping uglies to be honest. Thought you might be one of them weird ones, no sex drive and what not. But here you are, gagging over Jafar’s kid of all people, fancy that. He make your dick rise then, boy?” The hand moved from his stomach to roughly grasp his crotch, and Carlos made a noise of distress at the discomfort of the action. “He touch you yet then? S’at where you’ve been since yesterday, you been gettin’ fucked by the thief boy?” Carlos strained against the ropes holding him to the chair, struggling to break free as Jasper’s hand moved against him to undo his pants slowly. 

“Stop touching me, you fucking pervert.” Carlos hissed the words at Jasper, hating that he couldn’t see the man touching him, couldn’t read his body language to judge his next move. He knew that pleading wouldn’t do him any good, would just make Jasper more likely to draw whatever torture he had planned out even longer just to watch him suffer. 

“I’ll do what I like, runt. Missus don’t much care what we do down here so long as you’re absolutely miserable.” The hand on his zipper tugged hard, and Carlos jumped at the movement, his heart in his chest as he tugged at his bindings again. 

“She did say not to take too long though, Jasper.” Horace’s voice was hesitant, somewhere to his left, and Carlos focused on it as a hand slipped into his shorts, putting pressure against his bladder slowly. Jasper huffed, pressing sharply against his lower abdomen as Horace muttered something under his breath too low for Carlos to hear, and Carlos whimpered as the urge to urinate grew with the added pressure. 

“She’s had two bottles of wine, Horace, she won’t be looking for us for a bit yet.” The hand pressed hard again, and Carlos gave a whimper as he felt himself urinate, unable to fight against the pressure. Jasper let out a cackle, slapping his stomach hard as his shorts grew damp. “Uh oh, the lads gone and wet himself Horace. And here I thought he’d grown out of pissing his pants.” Heat flushed Carlos’ cheeks at the words, and he shifted in his seat as a strong hand grasped his chin. He didn’t understand Jasper’s perverse pleasure in torturing him, in making him miserable and humiliated. 

“There is something very wrong with you.” For a moment, Carlos thought he had spoken his thoughts out loud, and it took a moment for him to realize that the voice had come from his right.

“Oh shut up Horace. You tellin’ me you don’t enjoy watching the runt squirm in misery?” The fingers on his chin tightened painfully, dull nails digging into the line of his jaw as he struggled in the grasp once more. “You’re not getting soft on me are you Hor? Missus won’t be pleased about that.” Carlos bit his lip hard to keep from whimpering as the warmth spread in his lap, humiliation washing over him as a set of hands settled on his shoulders, the musty scent of clothing that hadn’t been washed in weeks mixing with the smell of urine and causing him to gag slightly. 

“We don’t have to do everything Cruella says, Jasper. He’s just a boy- he doesn’t even fight back, where’s the sport in that? We shouldn’t be torturing him like this, we helped raised him!” Horace’s words were spoken with conviction, and Carlos couldn’t help the wave of gratitude he felt for the meeker of his mother’s henchmen. 

“We do-“ Jasper’s voice was nearly a growl, the hand on Carlos’ chin vanished, followed by the sound of someone being punched hard. Horace grunted, and Carlos squirmed again in an attempt to free himself from his seat while Jasper was distracted somewhere behind him. “-whatever Cruella asks of us. Because without Cruella we have nothing, you weasel, do you understand that? So if she wants me to drown the brat, I’ll drown him. If she wants him skinned? I’ll skin him. If she wants me to violate him with a bottle, it’ll damn well get done because the missus asked me too. Are you going to try to stop me?” Silence settled for a moment before the sounds of a scuffle started, two grown men fighting mere feet from where he sat. He wished he could see what was happening, who was winning the fight; Horace had nearly fifty pounds on Jasper, but Jasper wasn’t unfamiliar with a brawl. Something hit his chair hard enough to send him listing to the left and toppling over with a crash, his shoulder slamming into the floor with enough force to pop it out of place with a crunching noise. He held back a cry of pain, instead focusing his attention on the sounds coming from behind him. 

“I won’t stand by while you and Cruella torture him anymore, Jasper.” Horace’s voice was strained, as though something was making it difficult for him to speak, and Carlos took a deep breath before attempting to roll himself to his opposite side, the chair causing him to struggle as he rolled onto his stomach. 

“What are you going to do, you tub of lard? You’ve gone soft, you’ve been spending too much time with that Tremaine girl and her husband! He’s ours to do with as we please, and Cruella is pleased when he’s in pain!” The floor was hard and cold under him, but with enough shifting he was able to slowly edge himself away from the commotion, hoping that Jasper was distracted enough by Horace to not notice him. He stilled as a cry of pain sounded behind him, squeezing his eyes shut and remaining perfectly still as a wet sounding thudding noise reached him, second’s before a terrible scream.

It took him a moment before he recognized the sound. 

He wished he didn’t. He wished he had no idea what the steady, squelching thuds meant. Wished he could drown out the sound of Horace begging, pleading, of the man’s sobbing. Of the wails of agony, the screams of pain that somehow echoed in the room around them. Carlos began to move again, half wiggling away from the noise as fast as he dared, willing himself to be silent as he shifted back and forth on the floor in a bastardized crawl. He wanted away from what was happening behind him, away from Jasper’s special brand of insanity and whatever horrors he was inflicting on Horace. 

“Hey! Where do you think you’re going, runt?” He couldn’t help the gasp as a hand grabbed his ankle, still tied to the leg of the chair, and pulled hard to drag him backwards. He could feel the ground scraping the skin of his stomach before his leg was twisted, his body rolling awkwardly onto his right side as a hand grasped him by the shirt and pulled hard to bring the chair upright again before something was dropped into his lap. 

“What did you do, Jasper?” Carlos’ voice was hoarse as he tried not to think about what might be in his lap, immediately becoming aware of the fact that Horace seemed to have fallen completely silent behind him. Jasper gave a wicked laugh, and Carlos shuddered as wet fingertips far too thick to belong to Jasper tapped the side of his face before something else was dropped into his lap to join the first. 

“Don’t you worry none about that, boyo. All you need to know is that Horace, soft little doughy man he is, has made a great sacrifice for you today! Your mum wanted you to suffer, she did, but the thing is she never clarified exactly how she wanted you to do that. And I know you’re secretly a good boy deep down, aren’t you. You just want to be loved, or whatever ridiculous tripe you precious brats spout these days. Well today’s you’re lucky day, my boy. Looks like Horace here cares about you more than he cares about his ability to do most tasks. Fancy that.” A hand ruffled his hair roughly, and Carlos felt his chest tighten as he felt Jasper lean close enough to feel his breath against his cheek, putrid and hot in the cool air of the basement. “He’s a bit of a waste of space anyways, so no skin off my back brat. Besides, it’s not like he can die from the blood loss really, isn’t that right? Too bad you can’t grow back limbs with all your precious science.” Carlos sank back some at the sneer, his breathing coming quicker as he realized that whatever Jasper had done to Horace, he’d done it because Horace had tried to help him. Because he had been helpless to stop Jasper. 

It was his fault. 

The panic hit him hard moments before Jasper’s fist did the same, and Carlos let out a half cry at the sharp crack of his head swinging sharply to far to the left before everything went dark.

-+-+-

Early morning on the Isle was almost peaceful on the far side of the island, away from the wharf and marketplace. The ever present clouds hung a little lower in the sky at the approach of dawn, promising a damp and dreary day much like every other day on the prison-turned-home. Evie walking circles before the iron wrought gate that lead to the driveway of Hell Hall, perfectly painted nails picking nervously at the strap of her bag as Mal sat on the heavy stone gargoyle just outside the gate, legs kicking idly as she watched the younger girl pace.

“I don’t understand. Carlos should be here. He said he’d meet up with us outside of Hell Hall at dawn, he’s never late” Mal frowned, her legs stilling as she turned slightly to look towards the manor, squinting in the early dawn light. 

“Do you think something happened?” Evie gave a small shrug- it wouldn’t be the first time Cruella prevented Carlos from meeting her early in the morning, though usually he gave some sort of warning that he wouldn’t be able to make it via an article of clothing in a window, hung like a flag of defeat. She turned back to the house, scanning it quickly to see if anything seemed out of place, and let out a frustrated noise as she realized that nothing in the house seemed to have been moved. In fact…

“The windows haven’t been cleaned.” Mal’s brows furrowed as she turned her attention to the windows, noting that the usually pristine (or as pristine as the Isle could get) window’s were indeed dirty. 

“So he forgot to clean the windows, E, I’m sure you’ve forgotten a chore or two before.” Evie shook her head at Mal’s dismissive tone, wrapping her arms around herself as she began to pace again. 

“Me, sure. Carlos? Never. Mal something’s wrong. Something’s really wrong.” Both girl’s heads snapped up at the sound of someone approaching, “Jay! Jay, something’s wrong, Carlos isn’t here and he hasn’t done his morning chores yet.” Jay’s brow furrowed as he reached the girls, casting a glance towards the house at Evie’s words.

“Maybe he just hasn’t gotten to them yet?” He shrank back slightly at the scathing look Evie fixed him with, holding his hands up in surrender as Mal gave a small hum. 

“Apparently Carlos is always done his chores by now. So we go see if he’s okay. Is Cruella home?” Evie shook her head, pointing out the empty driveway. 

“No, I saw her and Jasper leave about an hour ago. They took the car, which means they’ll probably be gone most of the day- she only ever takes the car if she’s going to Troll Town. I haven’t seen Horace at all, but he’s usually alright if he’s not with Jasper so I think we’ll be okay. Follow me and don’t touch anything.” Mal nodded, and behind them Jay chewed his lower lip as he recalled what his father had said the day before. Evie lead them into the manor, barely taking the time to glance into the parlor before starting towards the stairs leading up to the second floor, stepping over two broken steps as though she had the entire house memorized. 

Mal supposed she probably did, at that. 

“He might be recovering in his room. Sometimes it takes him longer to get through the traps if he’s injured.” Mal and Jay exchanged a look, following Evie to what looked like a closet door. “It’s easier to go through Cruella’s room, but she always knows when the door’s opened from the outside somehow. Just move very, very slowly and step exactly where I step, okay?” Mal nodded, and Evie reached to pull the door open, exposing a-

“Closet. You’re taking us to Cruella’s fur closet? Wouldn’t it make more sense to look for Carlos in his actual bedroom?” Mal’s tone was confused as she stared at the wall of different colored fur coats, her hand automatically reaching out to grasp Jay’s wrist to prevent the thief from his attempt to grab ahold of one of the coats. “Jay, no. Seriously?” Jay gave a half shrug, and Evie carefully pushed the coats aside, revealing a larger walk in behind the initial row. 

“Remember what I said- it’s really dark in here, and no one wants to deal with a bear trap injury okay?” Both Jay and Mal’s eyes widened as they turned their attention to the floor, both catching the glint of light hitting steel as Evie started into the closet. “And we are in Carlos’ room. Or we will be once we get around the traps.” 

“What, Carlos sleeps in his mom’s closet?” Mal scoffed, and behind her Jay gave a grunt as he nearly miss-stepped. 

“Hey, not all of us are graced with big, spacious bedrooms Mal. Some of us sleep under stacks of t.vs.” His tone was unamused as Mal shot him an almost apologetic look, and Evie let out a relieved sigh as they reached the other side of the closet. She pushed open the small servant’s door, ushering both older teens inside before closing the door with a soft click. Mal took a look around the room, her nose wrinkling as she spotted the black and white vanity against the wall. Beside it, three mannequins stood with various half-finished garments pinned on them, two of them sporting what appeared to be clothing for someone much smaller than Cruella and one a long, red and black evening gown. 

“Oh shit, that’s a fancy ass dress.” Mal reached towards the sparkling, sequined material, wincing as Evie slapped her hand away with a glare. “What does Cruella even need something this fancy for? Where’s she gunna wear it?” She scoffed at the idea of the woman wearing something so impractical while living on the Isle, and Evie shook her head as she moved past the vanity to a small, curtained off sectioned off corner of the room. 

“Those aren’t Cruella’s, they’re Carlos’. Sometimes if he can get the material and stuff, he’ll make her dresses like she use to have. It’ll usually buy him a few good days.” Pushing the curtain open, she frowned as she stared down at the small lumpy mattress pushed against the wall. ‘He’s not here.” Jay moved to peer over her shoulder, taking in the blood stained mattress with a frown before turning his attention to the small pile of what looked like chewed sticks beside the bed. 

“So he must be around somewhere, we keep looking.” Evie nodded, moving to pull the curtain back into place before turning to look at the door leading out of the dressing room, taking a deep breath before pushing it open. 

“If he’s not up here, he’s probably in the bathroom, the kitchen, or…the basement.” She lead them through Cruella’s room and out into the hall, turning to the left to head to a door at the end of the hall. “C? Are you up here?” No noises greeted her call, and she frowned as she peered into the bathroom, noting it’s emptiness before moving on. “He was fine yesterday. Cruella didn’t even seem that upset with him, and he would have gotten back in after she’d had her supper and gone to bed…I don’t understand what could have happened.” She started down the stairs, and Jay cleared his throat as they made their way towards the kitchen. 

“I might have had something to do with whatever happened to him, Evie…” The blue haired girl paused, turning to face Jay with a guarded look on her face. 

“What do you mean?” Beside Jay, Mal took a subtle step away from the taller teen as Evie took a step towards him, eyes narrowing as she grabbed him by the front of his shirt and shoved him hard against the wall. “What did you do, Jay?” Jay held his hands up, eyes wide at the sudden ferocity from the girl. 

“I took Cruella’s lighter and she found out. I didn’t mean to, I can’t help it when I lift things okay? It’s muscle memory by now, I don’t even know I’m doing it half the time you gotta believe me, E. I didn’t even think about it, I didn’t want to hurt him by doing it.” Evie’s face paled, and she raised her hand to slap him across the face before letting him go, turning on her heel to make her way into the kitchen, her words causing Jay’s stomach to drop. 

“It doesn’t matter if you meant to, Jay, you did it and now he’s probably suffered for it. Evil it must be nice to not have to think about the consequences of your actions!” She stormed through the kitchen, grasping the handle for the basement door and turning it, pulling it open with a force that caused Mal and Jay to take a step back away from her. “Carlos?” Her voice echoed slightly against the stone stairway, and she reached into her bag to pull a candle and lighter out, lighting it before she began her descent down the stairs. Mal followed closely, her hand on the wall to guide her as Jay trailed after them, silent and ashamed. 

The basement was damp, the air chilled around them with a heavy soot and metallic taste to it that made it hard to breath as they reached the bottom step of the stairs. Evie turned to her left, raising the candle in the air some as she let her eyes adjust to the dim lighting it provided. A large mass of rags sat beside the furnace, a bloodied axe leaning against the wall near it; to the left of that sat the slumped, blindfolded form of their friend tied to an old chair. 

“Carlos!” Evie nearly dropped the candle in her rush to get to him, though she froze as she spotted two bloodied, armless hands sat in her friend’s lap, her face paling as she covered her mouth and turned to look at the other two, eyes wide. Mal gave her a confused look, stepping around her to see what had caused her to stop, and took in both the hands and the bloody streaks over Carlos’ face before taking a step forward, a seriousness taking her over as she took control of the situation. 

“They aren’t his hands, Evie. Fuck he's cold. Jay, find something to put these in then stand guard.” Jay nodded, moving to search the room as Evie took a hesitant step towards Carlos, holding the candle closer for Mal to be able to see. “Ugh, it smells like blood and piss down here. E, do you have a knife on you? I don’t think we’ll be able to untie this, I think he struggled pretty hard and the knots too tight.” A small fond look swept over Mal’s face as she considered how much fight the boy before her seemed to have, and she took a moment to brush hair from Carlos’ face as she inspected the dark, purpling bruise on his cheek. “It looks like he took a pretty hard hit to the face…kid can’t catch a break, can he?” Evie gave a small, almost hysterical snort as she dug into her bag, pulling out a knife and handing it to Mal, who gave her a look. 

“I can’t, my hands are shaking too much Mal, please.” Mal nodded, taking the knife to begin sawing through the rope, and behind them Jay made a noise of surprise.

“Oh, gross. Uh guys? I think I know whose hands those are.” Both girls glanced up towards Jay, who stood over the pile of rags in the corner pale faced. 

“Who is it?” Mal asked, returning her attention to the rope as Evie began pressing her fingers along Carlos’ body, searching for more injury. 

“Horace. And he’s down two hands…that’s fucked up man. Really fucked up. Are you guys almost done?” Mal nodded as the knife cut through the last bit of rope, half lunging to keep Carlos from toppling from the chair as the rope fell away. 

"Shit, Jay help, he's heavier than he looks." Jay grasped Carlos' shoulders as Mal flung the hands as far from them as she could before moving to help Jay get Carlos off the chair and sitting on the floor, all three teens stilling at the sound of a car approaching the manor. 

"Shit. Cruella and Jasper." Evie's voice was tight as she gestured for Jay to pick up Carlos, barely taking the time to grab the knife Mal had used before ushering them up the stairs and out the kitchen door. "Tree house. Go." Mal nodded and started towards the tree house, reaching it quickly and pulling the ladder free. 

"Guys." Evie moved to help her, ignoring Jay for a moment as she struggled to tug one of the sides free, and Jay spoke again, more urgent than before. "Guys, I think something's wrong." Evie turned to look at Jay, noting the slow growing panic on the boys face. 

"What? What's wrong Jay?" She moved to his side, taking in the almost grey hue to Carlos' skin as Jay shifted him in his arms. 

"He's not breathing and he's really cold, Evie. I don't think he's still, uh. Alive." Evie cursed, cupping Carlos' face to tilt it up gently. 

"Yeah. Yeah, I think Jasper broke his neck. The magic will fix it in an hour or two probably if it hasn't yet but we have to get him up inside the tree house." Jay nodded, adjusting his hold on Carlos' body before turning to head up the ladder, Mal having already gone up. Evie rubbed her hands over her face, turning to look at the house before following Jay as well.

They were going to have to move their schedule forward faster than anticipated.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This update comes to you from the back of my van on the 2.5 hour drive i to toronto for an anime convention because I’m actually a MASSIVE nerd. 
> 
> That’s how dedicated I am to you guys, clearly. :D

“Lay him down on the floor here and go fill that bucket with water from the tap, Jay. He needs to be cleaned up before he wakes up.” Jay grunted as he moved to place Carlos’ body on the floor, adjusting the younger teen until he was laying straight before turning to get the bucket from where it sat on Carlos’ work table. Evie moved to take his place next to Carlos, reaching to grasp his neck and carefully twisting it until there was a soft popping noise. “Okay. Mal, there should be some pants in the trunk by your leg, could you get them please? Jay, water.” She glanced up as the bucket was placed beside her, frowning at the blank look on Jay’s face as he stared down at the still body on the ground. Giving a sharp shove to the older boy’s legs, she half guided him to kneel next to her as she reached to undo Carlos’ shorts, wrinkling her nose at the sour smell of urine and blood that had sunk into the fabric. Tugging them down, she gestured for Jay to continue removing the shorts as she reached for the bucket, taking the rag that sat in the water to begin cleaning the mess on her friend’s lower body in quick, clinical order. 

“You look like you’ve done this before, Blue.” Mal’s tone was almost casual, though the slight waver of her words gave away her unsteadiness as she watched Evie clean Carlos delicately, bending to retrieve the pants before moving to stand beside the other girl. Once Jay had removed the shorts he brought them to the small sink, filling the rusted basin with water to allow the garment to soak before moving back to Evie’s side, hovering anxiously. 

“This’ll be the third time he’s died from a broken neck. The first time, I didn’t know what to do, and when he came back his spine was all messed up because I didn’t make sure his neck was straight. The second time, Jasper…” She paused, dipping the rag into the bucket as she took a moment to gather herself before shaking her head, turning her attention back to Carlos as she reached for the pants in Mal’s hands. “It doesn’t matter. It shouldn’t happen in the first place.” Jay moved to help her dress Carlos’ body again, and Mal took in the almost unnoticeable shake to Evie’s hands as she settled back on her heels. Mal reached for her arm, tugging her up and guiding her to the couch in the corner as she pointed at Jay. 

“Jay, sit with him until he...whatever it is he does. Comes back to life. Evie, sit down.” Evie nodded, letting Mal move her as Jay settled beside Carlos’ body, one hand resting on the youngest teen’s chest. “How long does it take him to uh...come back?” Evie leant into Mal some, sighing softly as she picked at the cushion under her as her gaze traveled around the treehouse, landing on the television in the far corner. 

“Jay could you turn on the t.v please.” Jay nodded, leaning over Carlos’ body to switch on the television before settling back against the wall, hand resting back on Carlos’ chest. “It depends- sometimes its a couple hours before his body’s fixed itself, but besides his neck he looked okay, so I don’t think it’s going to be too long. Cruella and Jasper rarely come looking for him after, so we should be able to stay here until he wakes up.” She tugged Mal until the two were laying along the couch, and from the floor Jay made a disgruntled sound as he settled next to Carlos’ body. 

“So what do we do in the meanwhile then?” Evie glanced his way and gave a shrug, taking in the careful way Jay handled Carlos’ body as he shifted them to see the t.v better. 

“Usually I watch t.v or do homework.” Mal wrinkled her nose, twisting to give Evie a look at her words. 

“Well that's dumb, I vote we don’t do homework while we wait for our spotted companion to magically come back to life. Besides, I don’t even have homework besides the parents project and it’s not like we can go ask Crazy Cruella and her murderous manservant for info for Carlos’ part. I don’t even want to think about what would happen if we did that.” Mal shifted her gaze from Evie to Carlos’ body, frowning. “Is there any other way to get the parts Carlos needs to make that machine? Waiting for the barges to bring exactly what he needs isn’t the best plan if we want to get this all done fast.” Evie contemplated Mal’s words a moment before sitting up, reaching to tug Mal’s arm some in excitement. 

“Of course! The Junk Shop would probably have what we need in Jafar’s back room. He’s always inviting Carlos and I back to look at the stuff, but Carlos says he’s, uh…” She glanced towards Jay, who gestured for her to continue. “More interested in what we can give him than anything else. Though he doesn’t invite me out back anymore…” She frowned, letting her gaze drop to her hands as she shook her head. “We might be able to get the parts we need there.” Mal shifted to drop her chin on Evie’s shoulder, humming some. 

“We can go to the shop once the kid’s up again. Or if you guys want to wait we can go tomorrow. We can probably find what we need.” Evie nodded, and Jay let his head fall back against the wall as he cleared his throat. 

“Uma’s crew is going to be looking for us. There’s no way they won’t know it was us who set the Revenge on fire, and they’re going to want blood.” Mal snorted, and Jay shot her a look. “We’re going to have a turf war happening while we’re trying to get this shit together to break the barrier. We might have wanted to think this through a bit better.” Mal wrinkled her nose, and Jay pointed at her. “I’m serious, Mal. And has anyone thought about what we’re going to do once we kill Jasper and Cruella? Like what’s the plan there?” Mal rolled her eyes, and Evie wrinkled her nose. 

“We’re going to leave the main Isle, obviously. We’ve been thinking about going to Nowhere, since there will be no guarantee we’ll be able to escape the barrier in the time it’s opened after Carlos breaks it. The magic takes about half an hour to reset and mend the barrier. Carlos has already made a deal with the goblins and they’ll run us supplies wherever we go.” Mal’s brow furrowed, and she shifted to turn Evie towards her. 

“Wait, leave the main Isle?” Evie nodded, and Mal shook her head. “You can’t just help us start a...a turf war and then fuck off. You can’t just abandon us, Evie.” Evie blinked at the almost distressed tone to Mal’s voice, and she shifted again to fully face her in confusion. 

“Mal, we can’t stay here after we do it. Carlos…” she glanced at Carlos’ body, a dark look crossing her face. “Carlos can’t stay here. After everything that’s happened, he deserves to live in a place that’s not fuel for his nightmares.” Mal’s expression softened some as Evie rubbed her eyes, rubbing the blue haired girl’s shoulders gently. 

“Of course he does. Shit, I’m sorry E. You’re right.” Evie nodded, and Mal exchanged a look with Jay. “We’ll get everything figured out. Getting you guys out, dealing with Uma and her crew…” Evie nodded, and Mal offered her a small smile before all eyes darted to Carlos as his body shot upright, panicked screams coming from the teen as he scrambled back against the wall, frantically trying to sweep some invisible thing from his lap. 

“Carlos? Carlos, it’s okay, you’re okay dude!” Jay’s hands reached towards Carlos, and Evie darted off of the couch, grasping his wrist to pull him back some. 

“No, Jay don’t touch him. He needs a minute to came back, he’s confused right now.” Turning to Carlos, she shuffled closer on her knees, gently reaching to touch the tops of Carlos’ hands. “Carlos, you aren’t in the basement. It’s okay.” Both Jay and Evie gave a sigh of relief as the screaming came to a stop, Carlos’ eyes seeking out Evie as he curled into himself. Silence settled over them for a long moment, the only sound Carlos’ heavy breathing as he stared at Evie. 

“He cut off his hands, didn’t he? That’s what h-he was touching me with, that’s what he dropped into my lap.” Jay and Evie exchanged a look, and Evie gently took Carlos’ hand into hers. 

“Yes, he did.” Carlos nodded, his gaze moving to the floor in front of him as he wrapped his arms around his legs. “Do you want to talk about it, C?” Carlos remained silent for a moment before he began to speak, his words flat. 

“Jasper did it because he was trying to help me. He force me to drink so much water it made me sick, forced me to piss myself and then when H-Horace tried to st-st-stop him he hurt him.” His breathing quickened again as he squeezed his eyes shut, his fingers curling in his hair as he continued. “It’s all m-m-my fault, his hands won’t come back, he was just trying to h-h-h-“ Evie grasped his arms, pulling him away from the wall and into her arms. 

“This isn’t your fault C. You didn't ask for that to happen, and if anyone is to blame it’s Jasper and Cruella, not you.” Carlos squeezed his eyes shut again, and Jay made a distraught noise as he shifted closer. 

“I should be blamed. I'm the idiot that took Cruella-freaking-deVil’s goddamn lighter without even considering the consequences. I didn’t even realize I’d done it til I’d gotten home, and I’m so, so sorry Carlos. I’m so fucking sorry.” Carlos gave a small hiccup, pulling his legs closer to his chest as he struggled to calm himself down some, taking a few deep, slow breaths as he murmured the periodic table under his breath until he stopped shaking as much. 

“S’my own fault for trusting you. Should have known better.” Jay shrank back as though the words were a slap, not expecting them to sting the way they did as Carlos look up at him, gaze hollow. “It’s in your nature. We put ourselves first because no one else will. I understand it. I’m mostly just disappointed in myself for being so stupid.” Jay’s heart sank some as he watched Carlos take a slow, deep breath, the younger teen seemingly steeling himself before he continued. I “The only thing keeping Jasper from doing what he did to Horace to me is that it would prevent me from doing chores and my mother would be livid. But he’s been getting more…” he frowned, trying to come up with the right word. “Blood thirsty? I guess? Lately. So I think we should maybe try to move the timeline up for this. There’s a few people I can go to for the parts I need that I don’t usually deal with…” Mal cleared her throat, catching Carlos’ attention as Evie began to brush her fingers through his hair.

“We were thinking Jafar might have the parts you need, C. And Jay brought up a point about the pirates, they’re going to be out for our blood after last night.” Carlos frowned as he turned his attention to Mal, taking in the girl’s look of discontent at the thought of the pirates.

“He’s not wrong. We set their ship on fire, they’re going to be out for more than just our blood after that.” He settled against Evie, exhausted from the ordeal with Jasper and from waking up, and contemplated the issue for a long moment as Mal flopped back on the sofa again, staring at the ceiling while Jay shifted a bit closer to the two younger teens. “Although they might not know it was us yet. The cloth we used for the fire bombs came from Mim’s shop, and most of the chemical’s I got from Gothel’s place…it could be feasible to place the blame on Ginny and Maddie’s crew and start a war between the Pirate’s and the Witchlings, which would occupy them while we deal with getting the parts for the breaker and getting out.” He shifted slightly, his gaze seeking Jay’s as he furrowed his brow in deep thought. “You made sure you were seen at Ursula’s, right?” Jay nodded, and Carlos hummed, resting his head back on Evie’s shoulder as her fingers worked through a tangle.

“What are you thinking, C?” Evie’s tone was amused, as though Carlos had done something to imply that he had an idea what to do and Evie found it entertaining, and Carlos huffed as he let his eyes fall closed.

“You or I will go to the pirates and tell them that Maddie and Ginny bought some propellant from us and we think it might have been them who set the ship on fire. Uma’s smart, but when she’s mad she doesn’t exactly look at all the facts before she goes after someone, so there’s at least an 80 to 85% chance that she’ll go after Maddie and Ginny before thinking about HOW they’d be able to set the ship on fire. Plus if we rile up Harry and Gil just right they won’t be thinking about anything but potential revenge.” Mal gave a slow nod, going over the idea in her head as Jay grinned, reaching out to lightly pat Carlos’ shoulder.

“Dude. You’re like…our brain.” Carlos wrinkled his nose, and Evie snorted as she gave Jay a half shove.

“Your brain, maybe. Mal and I are both smart enough without his help, thank you very much. Carlos is just an excellent strategist, is all.” Carlos shifted out of Evie’s arms to lean against the wall again, giving a small shrug at the other teen’s words.

“When your life is a warzone you gotta be, right?” The three older teens nodded solemnly, and Carlos offered them a small smile as he rubbed his hands on his pants. “Who, uh. Changed me? I know I wasn’t wearing this when I was in the basement.” Evie’s eyes darted to Jay and a smirk lit her lips.

“Jay did. He was very gentle about it too. It was so sweet.” Jay flushed, and Carlos tilted his head to look at Jay for a moment, expression unreadable, before the corner of his lips curled upwards slightly.

“Perv. I appreciate it though, I…was probably pretty rank.” Jay shrugged, shifting a bit closer to Carlos as he pursed his lips thoughtfully.

“It was kinda gross but I powered through it.” He frowned as he let his gaze fall to Carlos’ still slightly shaking hands and he balled his fists in his lap, uncertain if Carlos would reject him taking his hand. “I’m really sorry you had to go through that Carlos.” Carlos hesitated a moment before placing a hand on Jay’s shoulder, giving him a slightly guarded look.

“It’s…whatever, Jay. We’re not going to get anywhere if you keep thinking about it. It happened, it’s over…move on.” His voice held the steady conviction of someone who had told himself the same thing often, and Jay frowned but gave a nod, watching as Carlos relaxed slightly at the action. 

“We should decide what our next course of action will be.” Mal’s voice was firm as she glanced between the two boys carefully. Jay shot her a look before pushing himself up from the floor, moving to look out the treehouse window towards the town. It was still fairly early, the small amount of sun that made it through the low hanging clouds trapped within the barrier not yet stretching across the sky, and Jay took a moment to take in the darkness as Mal and Evie traded ideas before turning back to them, clapping his hands together. 

“Carlos and I should go to my place to find those parts he needs, and you girls should go see what the word is on the pirates. If they’re looking for us in particular yet.” Mal nodded, and Evie turned her attention to Carlos for a moment, fussing over him as she checked he had healed properly. 

“Are you okay to do that, C? Cause we can wait as long as you need to.” Carlos offered her a soft smile, and Evie’s gaze flickered from him to Jay and back. “Maybe I should go with you to Jafar’s. Go with someone you can trust will have your back.” Jay flinched, and behind them Mal bristled at Evie’s none too subtle dig. 

“Hey, maybe lay off some. He’s already apologized and clearly he feels awful about what happened, E.” Evie turned to glare at Mal, her hand tightening on Carlos’ shoulder slightly. 

“Saying your sorry doesnt erase the fact that Carlos died, Mal. He died. If it weren’t for the stupid barrier and it’s stupid resurrection magic he’d be dead right now.” Mal’s brows furrowed as she stood up, placing her hands on her hips as she stared down at the other girl. 

“If it weren’t for the barrier and its magic he’d have been dead awhile ago, Evie. You said it yourself, he’s died at least three times now. So maybe quit being a bitch about it to Jay, ‘cause Carlos sure ain’t making half the fuss you are over it.” Evie’s expression darkened more, but before she could say more Carlos moved to stand, clearing his throat. 

“I’ll go with Jay, Evie. It makes more sense for you and I to split up- the pirates don’t trust them, and if you guys get caught you can make it look like you were just messing around or something. And since I’m the only one who knows exactly what parts I need…” he shrugged, looking at Jay for a long minute. “Jay can’t help stealing any more than you can help flirting with people, Evie. I don’t think he did it maliciously, but I’m not about to start trusting him blindly- that would be stupid. It’s fine.” Evie stared at Carlos for a long minute before giving a huff, pushing herself up off the floor to gather her bag. 

“Alright. Fine. But if anything happens to him, Jay…” it was an open threat, and Jay help up his hands in surrender as Carlos rolled his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest. 

“Yeah I can actually take care of myself for the most part?” Evie shot him a look and Carlos slipped an arm around her waist, bending his head towards her to whisper something that made the dirty look fade from her face. 

“Fine, Carlos.” Slipping the strap of her bag over her shoulder she turned to Mal, sizing her up a moment. “You’re coming with me to my place first. I’m fixing that jacket before we do anything.” Mal frowned, looking down at her leather jacket in confusion, and Carlos pointed towards her side. 

“Rip. We’ll head to the Junk Shop, meet up at Hades after?” The girls nodded, and Carlos gestured for Jay to follow him, keeping a careful distance from the boy. 

He was mad at him, but he also wanted to forgive him...it was confusing.


	15. Chapter 15

Jafar as the proprietor of Jafar’s Junk Shop wasn’t nearly as terrifying as Jafar, Vizier of Agrabah. Though he was now magic-less and had clearly let himself go throughout the years of poverty and raising his son, Carlos could see the man he once was in the way he held himself as he stood before his wares. He could picture how the man he had been in his youth, could see the smooth charm and quick wit that had almost landed him as Sultan. Carlos could easily see Jafar’s traits in Jay, as well- the charm and easy grace that made others pay attention, the quick wit and greed for more that coexisted with Jay’s own sweeter, more hidden traits. 

Though he had a healthy fear of most of the adults on the Isle, Carlos had never outright been afraid of Jafar, despite the many run ins he’d had with the man while looking for parts and things to please his mother. The older man had never threatened him or gotten physically violent with him, which brought him leaps and bounds ahead of his mother, though Jafar never hesitated to make awkward advances at either Evie or him during their interactions. 

“Young master deVil, what brings you to my humble shop?” Carlos shifted on his heels as he rifled through a pile of fabric, setting two pieces aside before glancing up at the man. “And...with my son, I see. Don't you have work to be doing Jadiir?” Jay made a face from where he stood behind Carlos, arms crossed over his chest as he gave a halfhearted shrug at his father's question. 

“Actually, I'm taking today off dad. Figure I earned it after yesterday's haul, right? Carlos actually came to me needing to see about some parts, but I figured you’d know best if we had them right?” Jafar gave his son an unimpressed look, and Carlos cleared his throat as he took a step forward. 

“I’m looking for some specific copper wires, a D volt battery in decent condition and a cathode ray tube to fix my moms t.v. She put a shoe through it the other day, and you know my mom…” Jafar nodded, crossing his arms over his chest as Jay moved to stand at Carlos’ back, trying to ignore the way the younger teen flinched away from him some. Jafar hummed as he moved to one of the tables, sorting through the pile of cables and wires before holding up several different sized wires. 

“Something along these lines, my boy?” Jay watched the almost gentle way his father presented the wires to Carlos, a frown pulling at his lips as the younger teen took the wires to inspect. He’d never seen his father act so...genuinely nice, and he narrowed his eyes as he took a small step closer to Carlos. “The battery we will have to discuss payment for in depth; you know how often they come in, there’s a high price. As for this tube you want, I have no idea what it is so you’ll have to come out back to take a look for yourself.” Carlos nodded, comparing the wires to pick three before handing the rest back. 

“That’s alright. I was prepared to pay more for the battery before we came here. Jay? Hold this please.” Jay startled slightly at the sudden attention, reaching out to take the wires from Carlos as they were handed to him before moving to follow him into the back room Jafar lead them too. 

“Jadiir, remember that the barge comes in earlier tomorrow. If you don’t bring back something useful…” Jafar trailed off as he moved to the shelf left of the door, rooting through the pile of items to pull out two different D volt batteries to hand to Carlos, and Jay winced at the implication of the trailed off words as Carlos took the batteries, expression blank as he stared at Jafar. The ex-vizier returned the stare for a moment before looking away, clearly unsettled, and Jay couldn’t help but smirk as Carlos handed him the batteries as well, entertained by the fact that the younger teen seemed to throw off his father. 

“Yeah, dad, I know.” Jafar turned his attention from Carlos to Jay, giving him a nod as he gestured for the two to follow him further back in the store room. 

“Now, what does this other piece you need look like, deVil? What did you call it?” Jafar shifted through a few boxes as he waited for Carlos to respond, the teen taking his time as he knelt on the floor to began poking through the boxes Jafar set before him. 

“Cathode ray tube. It’s what projects images on the screen of a television by projecting and deflecting protons and electrons and stuff. Actually, I could probably find one in one of the t.v’s you have if there’s none in these boxes?” He glanced up hopefully, and Jafar gave a small nod as his attention drifted from the box Carlos was looking through to the teen himself. 

“If you can’t find what you need here, you can look at the televisions yes. Jay, why don’t you go grab the large box from the shop with the spare t.v parts for him to go through.” Jay rolled his eyes, turning to leave the room to make his way out into the main shop, taking a few moments to find the box hidden among the others piled with junk. He dug the box out, careful not to upend the boxes around it before picking it up to return to the back room. He paused outside the door to shift the box, and his father’s voice caught his attention. “-asked what I wanted in payment, boy. That’s what I want. You still owe me for that knife you tricked me out of as well, don’t think I’ve forgotten.” Jay pressed his shoulder to the wall beside the door, frowning as he listened to the sound of shuffling. 

“I’ve already told you that it’s not something I’m going to give you, no matter how good the trade. Let go of me.” There was the sharp crack of a slap, and Jafar’s voice took an angry tone as Jay winced at the noise. 

“You’ll give me what I want if you want these items, boy. What do you even need those for? I’m not a fool, deVil; you don’t need copper wires and D volt batteries to repair a television set. What are you making?” Jay’s eyes widened as he nearly dropped the box at Jafar’s words, and he took a step around the corner to enter the room, both Carlos and Jafar looking at him as he cleared his throat. 

“Is this the box you meant?” Carlos sat on his knees, Jafar’s fist curled in his hair as the teenager pressed fisted hands in his lap, his eyes on Jay as the older teen set the box down gently before him. Jafar’s grip in Carlos’ hair loosened as Jay stared at him before dropping to the man’s side, a frown forming on his face as he took a step back from Carlos. 

“Yes. Go on and look, boy- we still have to discuss payment, you can see me before you leave the shop.” Jay watched as his father swept past him to go out to the storefront, leaving the two alone as Carlos dug through the box Jay had brought in. 

“What, uh.” Jay licked his lips, running a hand through his hair as he watched Carlos dig through the box before him. “What did dad want you to give him for the parts, dude?” Carlos’ hand paused in the box for a moment before glancing up at him, tilting his head slightly to the side. 

“Nothing I’m willing to give him. Here, can you hold this please?” Nodding, Jay took the parts handed to him as the younger teen switched to another box, pulling out a long tube like part with a triumphant grin. “Perfect. Alright, You take these parts while I go figure out what I have to barter for them…” Jay frowned but took the tube as well, watching as Carlos stood and rubbed the spot in his hair that Jafar had curled his fist in before the younger teen disappeared into the main part of the shop. Moving to follow after a moment, Jay’s frown deepened as he moved through the shop to where his father and Carlos stood arguing prices. Setting the pile of items into an empty box, he moved to Carlos’ side as Jafar slammed a hand down on the counter. 

“You can’t get something for nothing, you insolent brat! Are you trying to cheat me?” Carlos rolled his eyes, setting a pouch onto the counter next to Jafar’s hand before gesturing for him to open it. 

“I know better than to try and cheat a cheater, Jafar. Twenty gold should more than cover the parts, as well as my use of Jay for the afternoon.” Jafar eyed the pouch, reaching for it greedily to open and dump the coins into his hand. He took a moment to count them before waving Carlos off, pouring them back into the pouch and tucking it into his vest. 

“Go on then. Jadiir, you’ll be making up the hours you’re out gallivanting with hard work tonight.” Jay shrugged, moving to take the box of stuff as Carlos edged towards the door. 

“Yeah alright Dad. I’ll do that. Coming, C?” Carlos nodded as he turned to follow Jay outside, and the two made their way out into the market, weaving their way through the crowd in silence until they reached the road leading between the marketplace and the wharves. They slowed their walk as they started towards Hades’ shop to meet up with the girls, careful to avoid sticky fingers as the crowd thinned out. “Did we get everything you needed?” Jay’s question caused Carlos to look up, staring at the other teen a moment before he nodded. 

“Yeah. I wasn’t sure if your dad would have everything but surprise I guess. Mom’s gunna kill me when she realizes I didn’t go buy the stuff she wanted at the market though so I really hope that cathode tube works…” He shrugged, and Jay winced as he shifted the box in his arms, the memory of Carlos laying motionless in his arms a bit too fresh. 

“Dude, too soon. It looks okay though, right? The tube I mean? Should be usable?” He looked at the tube, wrinkling his nose as he attempted to figure out if it was in one piece or not. Carlos nodded, running his hands through his hair as they made their way into one of the alleyways before pulling himself up onto a pile of crates. 

“Yeah, it looks like it’s all in one piece. We should be good.” He flashed a grin at the older teen, bringing his knees up to his chest as Jay set the box down beside the crates, moving to join Carlos as he let out a hum. 

“Awesome…” he trailed off a moment, causing Carlos to look over at him curiously, brow raised as he waited for him to continue. “Look...I just wanna, you know.” Rubbing the back of his neck, Jay shifted to look at the younger teen, giving him a pained look. “Apologize, or whatever. Seriously apologize for taking your moms lighter and causing…” his gaze drifted to Carlos’ torso, mind flashing to piss soaked pants and Horace’s hands, and he frowned. “All that crazy shit to, um. Happen to you. And for all the shit before when me and Mal use to pick on you.” Carlos stilled at the words, wide eyes staring at Jay as he processed the words for a moment. 

“Evie is really pissed at you about it.” Jay gave him a look, and Carlos let out a huff. “What, do you really want to sit here and have a feelings talk, Jay? You want me to, what, tell you how much it hurt me that you stole from me, from my mom, knowing what she does to me? Do you honestly think I didn’t know exactly what I was setting myself up for when I invited you into Hell Hall?” Jay winced and Carlos rubbed his arm, staring hard at the garbage littered ground before him as he shrank into himself some, his voice softer than Jay’d ever heard on the Isle. “You think I don’t know exactly what people use to think when they looked at me, Jay? There goes Carlos, smallest kid in our year. He’s not much of a threat, he’s so scrawny and weak. Jumps if someone speaks too loudly or moves too fast.” He picked up three stones from one of the crates he sat on, brow furrowed in frustration as he threw one of the stones hard at the wall across from them. “Callous Carlos, that’s what the Step Granddaughters call me, isn’t it? I’m not stupid, Jay.” He hurled another rock at the wall, the third clenched in his fist as he stared hard at the area the one he’d thrown had hit. “I get enough shit from mom. From Jasper. And Evie’s too good for this place, so...you and Mal make it your business to be feared because you’re strong. We make it our business to be feared because we’re knowledgeable. I’m smart, Jay. Really fucking smart. I knew exactly what the probability of you stealing from me was.” Jay bit back a comment at the sharp look Carlos shot him, sinking back against the brick wall behind him as silence settled over the two of them for a long moment before Carlos let out a huff, letting his head fall back to hit the wall as he closed his eyes. “It would have happened anyways, Jay. Even if you hadn’t stolen the lighter, it would have happened anyways.They don’t need a reason to hurt me.” He let his head roll to the side so he could stare tiredly at Jay, dark eyes searching Jay’s face a moment before he spoke. “If you ever try to steal from Hell Hall again, though, I won’t hesitate to ensure it’s the last time you have the chance to. Understand?” Jay nodded, eyes wide at the younger teens words as Carlos closed his eyes again. 

“Understood, dude. I just wa-” Carlos’ eyes shot open and he leant over, pressing a hand hard to Jay’s mouth as he glared at him. 

“Shut up and drop it, Jay. Seriously, just-just shut up. Okay?” Jay nodded, watching as Carlos ran his hands over his face before a noise at the end of the alley caught their attention. Both sat up, alert to the newcomers, though they relaxed slightly as they spotted Mal and Evie making their way towards them. Carlos pushed himself from the crates, moving to meet the girls before they could reach them, and Jay slumped as he watched the three speak for a moment. 

He’d really shit the bed on this one. 

Carlos no longer trusted him, that much was obvious. He couldn’t say he blamed him, either- it was his fault, everything that had happened in the basement. He had never felt shame for stealing before; it was how you survived, surrounded by criminal’s and villain’s. It was how he made sure he ate every days, how he stayed in the top ranking on the Isle. If you had no skills in stealing, you starved, or you sold yourself. Those were the rules, and yet…

He glanced at Carlos, frowning as Evie reached out to gently brush a strand of hair from the younger teen’s face as she rambled off about Ginny Gothel, Mal nodding along and adding her own input whenever Evie paused. He felt guilty for what had happened after he’d taken the lighter. Guilt wasn’t something he was use to- it sat heavy in his gut, like he’d swallowed a rock that wouldn’t go away simply by apologizing. He actively wanted to make things right with Carlos and that...that was weird. He slid from the crates he sat on to pick up their box of goods as Mal gestured for him to join them, his expression turning neutral as he stood beside the purple haired girl, thinking over Carlos’ earlier words. He had a new goal now, outside of dealing with the pirates and helping Evie and Carlos with their task. 

He was going to gain back Carlos’ trust, however he could.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someday I'll learn how to edit. 
> 
>  
> 
> .....today is not that day.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry-not-sorry for Carlos and Evie's sudden history lesson hahahahaa.......

Evie was graceful in her every movement, from how she held herself to how she walked, how she held a knife to how she sat silently on the couch in the treehouse reading a book. Mal couldn't help but watch, captivated, as dainty fingers turned a page, the blue haired girl ignoring the constant movement of Carlos around her. The two worked around each other seamlessly- Evie easily handing over tools or parts from her seat as Carlos moved around his work table, slowly piecing together parts into an empty square shell of a box. It was hard to believe that the blue haired girl had lived nearly ten years in complete exile, and Mal couldn’t help but be a little impressed with how casually gorgeous Evie was even when making faces as Carlos handed her a half empty greasy tube of lubricant.

“So you have all the parts you need now?” She turned her attention from Evie to Carlos, gaze settling on the easy way long fingers manipulated metal and wire to form connections and loops that Mal didn’t understand in the slightest. Evie nudged the younger teen as he reached for another part, causing him to start slightly before looking up, eyes moving from Evie to Mal at the other girl’s quick nod. His eyes narrowed slightly as he took a moment to catch up to Mal’s question, and a part of the fae wondered if his last brush with death might have affected his quickness some. 

“Pretty much, yeah. Now it’s just a matter of putting everything together properly and getting the opportunity to use it. I have a good portion of the box built now, but I’ll have to wait to work on the wiring. That storm rolling in looks like it's going to be a rough one, and I’ve been electrocuted enough while working with wires to know when to hold off.” The light in the small treehouse flickered as the wind that had been steadily building outside shook the walls, and Carlos shuddered slightly as his grip on the screwdriver he’d been holding tightened. 

“That’s smart. All we need is a fried genius while we’re trying to get this shit done.” Mal huffed, crossing her arms over her chest as she turned her attention to the cracked window pane that faced the tall trees of the forest that was slowly overtaking Hell Hall. “It didn’t even look like it was going to rain this morning. I haven’t seen a storm set in this fast in…ever, actually.” She frowned, stiffening slightly at a sudden touch to her lower back before relaxing as she realized it was simply Evie, leaning towards her to look outside as well.   
"I've never seen the sky look this purple before." Beside her, Jay shifted on the couch to look out the window as well, a frown pulling at his lips as he took in the dark sky above them. "It's weird, C come look at the clouds." Behind them, Carlos set down his tools to make his way over, slipping past the trio to place his hands on the window pane to give it a gentle shove forward, the pane of glass spinning some to allow him to lean outside the window. He turned his gaze skyward, frowning as he took in the deep purple clouds swirling overhead. 

"Those are just heavy Cumulonimbus clouds, E. That's not that weird, we live on an island in the middle of the ocean contained in a magical bubble, I’m honestly surprised we don’t get more major storms to be honest. Maybe we should pack things in before it starts to pour out." He hesitated a moment before turning to make his way back to his work table, a deep frown creasing his brow as he began to pack away his things. 

"Pack it in? Didn't you fix the leak, C?" Evie asked, reaching to pull the window shut before shoving a large piece of plywood with the Bad Apple’s logo spray painted on it against it to brace it. Mal's gaze flickered to the ceiling as Carlos gave a hum, and she moved to help Evie with the next window as Jay went to help Carlos with his tools. 

"Yeah, but you guys are going to want to go home before the rain starts." Jay reached to take the parts Carlos handed him, following the younger boy's directions as he gestured towards a trunk in the far corner of the room. "I'm estimating about fifteen minutes before it starts to rain out." He shifted on his toes as he tried to touch a plank on the ceiling, his nose wrinkling as his fingertips just missed the strap of leather hanging from the corner. Jay leaned around him to grasp it, placing a hand on Carlos’ back to keep from toppling into the smaller teen as he gave the plank a tug to the left. The plank slid easily, opening a small hiding space just large enough for Carlos to shove the barrier box into. “Thanks. I use to have a stool but I broke it last week trying to get onto the roof.” Jay nodded, and Carlos gave him a curious look before turning back to the girls. “Alright. I’m probably going to stay up here since storms make Cruella…” he winced slightly, and behind Evie Mal shot Jay a look. Jay shrugged, nodding towards the door of the treehouse, and Mal returned the nod before clearing her throat. 

“You know, we usually ride out storms at our hideout. It’s a lot less drafty than Bargain Castle in a storm, and Jafar is insufferable during any sort of rain storm. The hideout’s down in the market, right above Hades’ place…why don’t you come with us, stick the storm out there?” Evie perked up at the words some, one of her hands dropping to Carlos’ shoulder as the youngest of the group considered the offer. 

“Yeah, alright. We should go now if we want to beat the rain though.” He turned slightly to look at Evie, brow raised. “You’re coming too.” Evie rolled her eyes, and Mal slipped an arm into the taller girls with a wide grin. 

“Of course she is. Jay’s got an old boom box and some tapes that aren’t too cracked to use, we can crank the radio and stay dry.” Carlos shot her a look, and she returned his gaze unfazed, tugging Evie to get her moving towards the door of the treehouse. 

“I think we have some bread still, too. We can have something to eat and stay dry. Will all of your electrical stuff be okay here?” Jay’s question caused Carlos to glance back at him as the taller boy cast an almost worried look over the walls and ceiling of the treehouse, and Carlos’ expression softened slightly at the almost concern for his things Jay seemed to be giving. 

“Yeah, all of my hiding places are waterproof for just this reason. I can’t keep anything inside, obviously, so I made sure that I made any place I had to hide stuff waterproof just in case.” Jay nodded, and the four headed out of the treehouse, Mal leading them into the yard as the rumble of thunder sounded from the opposite end of the Isle. Evie frowned as she glanced towards the low hanging clouds, taking in their darkness as Mal let her hand drop to lace their fingers together, pulling her along as Carlos guided Jay around an open fur trap. 

“Man, what does your mom even think she’ll catch out here with those? There’s no wild animal’s on the Isle.” Carlos frowned as they reached the gate, half shoving Jay through it before closing it with a clang.

“People who might come to the manor in the middle of the night to steal from her. Jasper and Horace when they’re really drunk as a punishment.” He shifted awkwardly on his heels, rubbing his wrist. “Five year olds who don’t sew her dresses right the first time they try.” Jay winced, giving a nod as they started towards the opposite end of the Isle. 

“Right. I didn’t really think about that.” Evie cleared her throat, dark eyes darting from the sky to Jay and back before she spoke, gesturing to where the clouds hit the barrier and stopped. 

“Has anyone ever wondered why the clouds can’t get out of the barrier? Other natural things can. I’ve seen birds flying through it, and we had that storm pass through it two weeks ago that started way out over Auradon, but any storms that start inside of the barrier stay inside of it. Doesn’t that seem weird?” Mal looked up at the sky as well, frowning as she considered Evie’s words. 

“I’ve…never really thought about it, but you’re right. Any storm I’ve ever seen that started inside the barrier stays inside of it. Do you think that means that the storms that start inside the barrier are magical or something?” Jay turned his gaze skywards at Mal’s question, brow furrowing as he took in the sight above them. Low rolling clouds stopped at the barrier, forming the illusion of an upside down bowl of clouds hovering heavily above their heads. 

“It’s largely possible, yeah. I don’t think the great king of Auradon considered the ecological ramifications of his actions when he shoved everyone who had ever wronged the heroes onto a single island with a magical barrier keeping all of the natural magic of the land contained and pushed…wherever. Yen Sid said that the magic couldn’t go out so it probably went down, into the land itself, and that’s why even though there’s literally nothing that should be able to sustain us here we’ve all survived. The magic isn’t gone, it’s just…blocked. And since it can’t thrive with the people of the Isle, it’s acting out by creating storms and stuff.” Three sets of eyes turned to look at Carlos, and he flushed as he reached to rub the back of his neck, the corner of his mouth tilting up sheepishly. “Uh. Theoretically, that is. It’s just a theory I’ve been kicking around?” A moment of silence passed before Mal let out a barking laugh, moving to clap Carlos on the shoulder before starting off towards the market once more. 

“You are seriously an egghead, Carlos, shit. So when we open the barrier, do you think I’d be able to use magic? If I’m right under it when it’s opened?” Carlos considered the question for a moment, and Evie piped up from beside Mal as they slipped into one of the alleyways at the entrance of the market. 

“Would you be able to control that sort of magical…power surge?” Her tone was cautious, as though worried her question would insult the purple haired teen. Mal shrugged, slipping past a barrel and scooping up a rock before throwing it at a sign above their heads. The sign moved and a section of wire fencing that blocked one of the fire escapes rose, Mal moving halfway up the stairs before turning to gesture the others to follow her. 

“I don’t know, maybe. Like, my mom’s Maleficent, I should be able to shouldn’t I? She’s one of the most powerful fairies to ever exist.” Jay snorted, pulling the gate back down to lock it in place again, and she shot him a dark look as he waved her off. 

“Yeah, but you’re only half fae, Mal. And you’ve never even used magic before- how do you know you won’t just blow up a bunch of stuff and then explode yourself?” Mal wrinkled her nose as she unlocked the large padlock on the door she had come to stop in front of, and Carlos cleared his throat as Mal let them into the loft-like apartment.

“Normally, I’d say that it’s not improbable for you to have a natural affinity for magic, Mal. But a sudden surge of power is a lot for anyone- even your mom probably would have had a hard time at first if she had never had magic available to her before and then suddenly she did. It’s probably pretty overwhelming.” Mal gave a slow nod, and Evie slipped past her to look around the hideout, eyes wide as she took in all of the things Mal and Jay had collected over the years.

“This place is amazing! Mal, did you do all of these drawings?” The group moved to stand before a giant mural painted along the back wall that seemed to be a stylized portrait of both Mal and Jay. Mal shrugged, a small grin pulling at her lips at Evie’s excitement, and gestured to all of the paintings scattered over the walls. 

“Yeah, I get bored sometimes you know? Jay goes and steals, and I paint. They’re alright I guess.” Evie turned to her with a frown, placing her hands on her hips as she gave Mal a calculating look.

“Shut up, they’re amazing. You’re really talented, Mal.” Mal shrugged again, a blush crossing momentarily over her cheeks, and she moved to collapse on the couch as a crack of thunder sounded outside. 

“If you say so, E. Sounds like we made it here just in time.” Jay disappeared into the small room to the left of the little living room set up that took up nearly the entire large middle room of the three room layout, the door clicking locked behind him as Carlos moved around the area inspecting the things scattered about. 

“This is a really good hideout, Mal. Though I suppose I shouldn’t expect any less from the most feared VK on the Isle.” He tossed her an almost amused look as he slipped into the small kitchenette on the opposite side of the room Jay had gone into, giving a pleased hum as he realized there was a small electric hotplate and a kettle. “Does the electricity work in here?” He glanced up at the dirty light shade above him, and a small part of him wondered where the building had originally come from before it had been transplanted onto the Isle during its creation twenty years prior. 

“Yeah, for the most part. Some of the plugs don’t work, but this was one of the buildings that actually stayed up and working when the bastard shipped the buildings over from Auradon. Like, you’d think a so-called hero would at least make sure there was electricity and basic amenities here, didn’t Dr. F say that there were prisons and shit back in the day that had all the basic needs provided. So why don’t we get them?” Carlos hummed at Mal’s words, moving to plug in the hotplate before filling the kettle with water. 

“But those people were still protected under law. The difference here is that no one on the Isle is considered a citizen of Auradon, even though the Isle is technically under King Beast’s jurisdiction.” Evie’s voice pipped up from where she had sprawled out over the pile of mattresses piled in the corner of the room, purple and green blankets pulled around her as she curled up to watch both Mal and Carlos from where she laid. “My mom made sure that I was well versed in Auradon laws just in case I ever made it off the Isle and found a prince- even though the Isle is a part of the kingdom on paper, no one in Auradon considers it actually a part of Auradon. They don’t even consider a large portion of the population of the Isle human, did you know that? Like, in Auradon humanoids like mermaids and the centaurs of Olympus and stuff, they’re given basic human rights, but here? Maleficent, Ursula, any villain who has a magical lineage or isn’t fully human, they’re listed as non-human inhabitants.” She frowned as she pulled the blanket closer, burying her face in it as Carlos pulled some cracked and chipped mugs from the shelf above the small sink, the youngest teen moving to stand in the small doorway as Jay made his way back into the living room and onto the couch to join Mal. 

“In other words, most of the inhabitants of the Isle are considered lower than animal’s in regards to rights. Health care, habitable surroundings, food and clean water? According to the charters signed when the Isle was created, our parents were allotted enough supplies to establish themselves. But Yen Sid was there when they created the Isle, and according to him, the Fairy Godmother placed a bunch of buildings, most of which were already close to being condemned, onto the Isle along with some crates of basic gardening items.” He tilted his head towards the window closest to him, all eyes moving to the high wind that had begun to pick up outside as another crack of thunder was heard. “Seeds were sent with the expectation that our parents make their own farms, but you can’t till the soil here. The Isle’s built of mostly clay, which doesn’t allow much room for draining in crops. All of the seeds sent over were for Auradon soil, so anything that did get planted drowned from storms or didn’t have the proper amount of sunlight. Not to mention, no one taught any of our parents how to grow crops or anything. I suspect that the expectation was that our parents would die off from their own ineptitude and lack of skills, but obviously they forgot that the barrier prevents that.” He frowned as he turned back to the counter, and Jay shifted on the couch as he watched Carlos put something into the four mugs on the counter.

“And then our parents started having kids, so then they had to start sending us shit on the barges, right? That’s what Dr. F said in class the other day when we were talking about the history of the Isle, the assholes in Auradon finally realized that they were basically starving the people here and there was a petition or something that our parents sent over, since they had babies now.” Evie nodded from her spot on the bed, and Jay gave a soft snort. “Who are we kidding, that’s probably the only reason they had us and didn’t drown us or something. People in Auradon aren’t going to starve babies.” Mal let out a snicker, shifting to shove her foot against Jay’s leg as she smirked at him. 

“Yeah but once we weren’t babies any more, they lost all interest. Now they just send their trash over to us instead. Real winners, Team Heroes.” Jay nodded, and a moment later Carlos reappeared from the kitchenette with two steaming mugs, moving to give one to Evie and the other to Mal, who sniffed it curiously. “Whoa, what’s this? It smells like apples. Like the ones that aren’t completely wormy.” Carlos went back for his own mug and one for Jay, fingers brushing the older boy’s own as he gave him his mug before settling onto the arm of the couch next to him. 

“Apple core tea. Evie and I have kind of a deal with the barge goblins, you know that. So they put aside the less rotten apples and some other fruit for us and we dry them in the over and make tea. It helps when there’s no food, but it’s also nice on stormy days. I keep it with me, or else our moms would drink it all.” Jay took a sip of his mug before shooting an impressed look at Carlos, licking his lips at the tart, tangy taste. 

“Shit, this is actually like…good. You just dry fruit and shit?” Carlos nodded, and Evie sat up properly as outside the sudden sound of rain hitting tin roofs startled her some. 

“We mostly use the cores after we’ve eaten the meat of the fruit, but it still works pretty good. Mom’s all about stuff like this, tea and shit. Apparently certain teas make you more beautiful.” She rolled her eyes, and Mal leaned back slightly to wink at her. 

“You don’t need to get any more beautiful, Evie. You’re already a major distraction.” Evie flushed as she wrinkled her nose, and Carlos snorted before taking a long sip from his mug. “We’ll probably be here for a while, so make yourselves comfortable I guess. Jay, go put some music on before we lose power or something will you?” Jay handed his mug to Carlos before pushing himself from the couch, moving to the ancient boom box tucked under a shelf to turn it on and press play on the tape cassette. Tinny rock music came from the speakers, and Mal bobbed her head in time with the beat as Jay rejoined them on the couch, the four settling in as the sky outside darkened even more to wait out the storm.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh....surprise?

Even sitting silent, Mal was impressed with Evie; from how she held herself to how she walked, how she held a knife to how she sat silently on the couch in the treehouse reading a book. Mal couldn't help but watch, captivated, as dainty fingers turned a page, the blue haired girl ignoring the constant movement of Carlos beside her. The two worked around each other seamlessly- Evie easily handing over tools or parts from her seat as Carlos moved around his work table, slowly piecing together parts into an empty square shell of a box. Mal didn’t understand any of what the two were doing, letting her attention fall instead to the soft curve of Evie’s cheek as she sketched the other girl idly in her sketchbook, tucked in a corner out of the way with Jay at her side. 

“You’re staring.” Jay’s voice was soft enough not to bother the two working teens, and Mal shot him a nasty look as she shoved her elbow into his chest as he gave a snort. 

“Shut up. Did we really think this through before we got tied up in this?” Her eyes tracked Evie’s hands as she tapped her pencil on the page before her, a small frown gracing her lips as her brow furrowed. “They’re just going to leave. Why are we doing this, letting ourselves get close to them when they plan on leaving?” Jay leant into her, giving a small sigh as his eyes returned to where Carlos was bent over the machine he was working on, quiet for a moment while he contemplated Mal’s words.

“We could go with them.” He stated, turning his gaze back to Mal as the girl stared at him. 

“Go with them. You- I’m sorry, have you lost your Hades damned mind? We have territory here, Jay. We own half the Isle for Evil’s sake!” Her words were hissed under her breath, not wanting to draw the others attention as Jay rolled his eyes, sinking back against the wall with a huff. 

“Our territory is garbage, and you know it Mal. We’re never going to keep all of the Isle under our control, and…” he frowned, shifting his legs to pull his knees to his chest, resting his chin on his knees. “And honestly, Mal, I’m sick of doing my dad’s dirty work. Aren’t you tired of doing your mom’s?” Mal fell silent for a moment, her gaze drifting from Jay to Evie before catching sight of bright eyes staring at her, Evie’s book closed as the girl stared at her. 

“Yeah...yeah, I am.” Mal murmured, pushing herself up from the floor and moving to stand next to Evie, leaning to place a gentle kiss to the other girls lips.

“Well hello to you too.” Evie’s lips curled into a smile as Mal pulled back, and Mal couldn’t help but chuckle as Carlos rolled his eyes beside them, reaching across Evie to grab a screwdriver. 

“How’s it going over here?” Mal asked, peering over Evie to the small black box sat on the table. She couldn’t make any sense of the mess of wires and parts spread out over the table; anything that involved technical skills went right over her head. 

“Almost done the first one.” Mal frowned at Carlos’ words, brow furrowing as she took in the pile of parts to Carlos’ left waiting to be put together. 

“What do you mean, first one?” She shifted to rest her hip against the table, one hand reaching to scratch some paint from the table top as Carlos set down the screwdriver he’d been using. 

“I’m going to have to make two, we have to test that I have everything right where I had to switch out some parts to try and adjust to a longer running time. I don’t want to test the main box and risk it only working once or not having enough charge to use it more than once. If I make one smaller than this, with a shorter window for remaining on, I’ll be able to make sure I put the circuits in working order before we use the big one. Think of it like a safety net. If the first box doesn't work, I can adjust the big one so it does. Make sense?” Mal gave a nod, her attention focused on the box Carlos slid towards her. “It should work for about three minutes. I’m not sure what we should test it on though.” Mal considered his words for a moment before snapping. 

“The barrier breaking means there’ll be nothing preventing magic from being used in that three minutes, right?” Carlos nodded, and Mal smirked as she waved a hand, her eyes glowing green. “I could try some magic? It’s always there, and Mom says that if I ever left the barrier I’d be able to use it.” Carlos hummed as he considered it, tapping his screwdriver on the table top. Mal had a point; they wouldn’t have to go anywhere to test her magic, and they didn’t need to get anything to test it with. Even the smallest magical task would be proof that it had worked.

“That could work.” Carlos set the completed box to the side, shifting his attention to the pile of parts to his left. “Jay. I have a job for you.” Jay glanced over from his spot on the floor, pushing himself up off the floor to make his way to the table. 

“What’s that?” He asked, leaning his hip against the work table next to the younger teen as Carlos leant to grab a small flask from the far side of the table. 

“First, I need you to fill this with water from the tap over there.” Jay took the flask as it was offered to him, following the younger teen’s instructions before handing it back. “Thanks, I was thirsty. Now I want you to head down towards the docks to see what’s going on with the pirates. I need you to see what’s being said about the fire, and you have to remain unseen. Can you handle that?” Jay gave a nod, running a hand through his hair as he offered Carlos a grin. 

“Yeah I can. Don’t worry, Carlos, I’m a shadow. I’ll go snoop around, see what the pirates are up to and see what information I can get. Shouldn’t be too hard, there’s plenty of places to hide on the wharf.” He shifted back, letting his arm drop to his side as Carlos gave a distracted nod. “Do you want me to go now?” 

“Yes. And once you have information don’t hang around. Come right back here, I should be done with the second unit in about two hours and I’d like to test it out as soon as possible.” Jay nodded, moving to disappear down the ladder. Mal moved to watch the thief disappear through the gates before turning back to the others, a small frown gracing her lips as she crossed her arms over her chest. 

“So. Say Carlos’ machine works and we’re all set to make this happen. What’s the plan going to be?” Evie hummed as she shifted on her seat, setting her book aside to turn fully towards the half-fae girl with a considering look. 

“The plan is to poison Jasper once we’re sure that the device works. He’s smarter than your average henchman, for sure, so we’re going to have to do it over the span of a few days to keep his suspicion off of us. The poison we have is odorless but has a slight metallic taste to it in large doses, so we can’t simply give him the entire amount needed to weaken him enough to murder him without him catching on to something being wrong. Once he’s got enough of the poison in him to weaken him, we’ll take him out in the night.” Carlos gave a nod as he worked, and Mal hummed that she was following along as Evie continued. “We’ll then move to Cruella, who will hopefully be drunk enough that she’s easy to take out too. From there...we should have everything together and ready to go before that night, maybe hide it at the opposite end of the Isle where we plan on going. What you guys do after is up to you though…” She trailed off, giving Mal an unreadable look before clearing her throat. “And then we’ll disappear. I’m going to see if I can petition Snow White to appeal to the new king for a pardon from the Isle- we’ve exchanged letters, and she’s sympathetic to my situation as far as I can tell.” She gave a small shrug, slumping in her seat some. 

“At the very least, we can get away from the main part of the Isle and I can try to break the barrier again with enough clearance to escape.” Carlos stated, quick fingers working a set of wires into place as he stuck his tongue out in concentration. 

“Well that has potential, leaving the Isle. Are the two of you planning on taking over Auradon if you escape?” Mal’s words held a bit of bite; she didn’t like the thought of Evie escaping into the outside world, taking over without her. Evie gave a delicate snort, shaking her head as she reached to hold some of the wires out of Carlos’ way as he worked. 

“Hardly. Unlike you, Mal, I have no desire to take over anything. I want to reclaim the royal title my heritage is due- did you know that my mother was a queen even before she married Snow White’s father?” Mal shook her head, and Evie gave a humorless laugh. “Most people have no idea that my mother came from a kingdom of her own. King Leopold only married my mother to solidify his kingdom’s truce with mother’s own kingdom when Queen Eva died. It wasn’t a marriage of love for either of them, and my mother was practically held captive in her own castle...but they never tell you that part, do they, when they talk about our parents. About why they were the way they are, what made them become villains.” She huffed, shaking her head. “They just assume that there was always something dark, something evil inside of us. Mother didn’t want to marry Leopold. She had her own lover in her own kingdom. But they forced her to marry him, and then when she took over the kingdom when he died they said that she was evil. Well if everyone thinks it you might as well be it, right?” Mal nodded, her gaze drifting from watching Carlos work to watching Evie’s face as she fell silent. 

“It was the same with my mother.” She admitted, moving to lean against the table as Evie glanced up at her curiously. “She was in love, you know. With King Stefan. She was a nature fairy, once upon a time. She was the protector of the great Moors, and she fell in love with a human. And that human betrayed her.” She frowned, shifting a bit closer to Evie. “And he married a woman for power, and their stupid baby is the reason she’s stuck on this stupid island. And I hate them, I hate all of those Auradian’s, because how is it fair that my mother is evil for cursing a child to sleep but Prince Phillip is good for straight up murdering a heartbroken woman? Who gets to decide that?” Evie reached to squeeze her hand, sharing a look with her as Carlos cleared his throat. 

“Cruella’s always been crazy. Apparently, when she was our age she use to drink ink. She’s never been okay in the head, and she’s always like torture things smaller than her. She had no sympathy for anyone, no maternal feelings, no human compassion. She wasn’t wronged by anyone and she never had a reason to be the way she is. She’s never going to get the help she needs, not here. And she’s never going to stop hurting me.” Evie reached to grasp his shoulder, and Carlos shrugged her hand off. “That’s why I have to do this. And if it makes me as bad as the people of Auradon think we are…” he trailed off with a frown, staring at the box in his hand before snapping the last piece in place, setting it aside. “I can’t live like this any more. I can’t live my life in fear of when my own mother plans to have me killed next.” Mal frowned, moving to place her hand on the table beside the younger teen, a determined look on her face.

“You’re not gunna, Carlos. We do this as soon as possible, and then Jay and I are going to make sure the two of you are safe. You have my word.”


End file.
